The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to the highest standards of public disclosure, transparency and accountability.
That’s why we’re strengthening the Parliamentary Disclosure of Interests Act 1996 to ensure Parliamentarians’ interests are available for public scrutiny.
The Act has been in place for 20 years and in this time, community expectations have changed. The Bill makes a number of significant changes to current disclosure requirements including a move to publish registration of interests online. In addition, it will require the disclosure of the interests of spouses (which includes de facto partners) and the disclosure of a broader range of gifts and benefits, such as non-monetary gifts.
Indexation has also been applied to certain thresholds in the Act (income, gifts, debts and contributions to travel) to ensure they do not become impractically low over time.
The amendments we introduced into Parliament last week were based on recommendations put forward by key stakeholders including the Integrity Commission and the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, and in consideration of the disclosure requirements in other Australian Parliaments.
These amendments add to the raft of significant changes already made to increase openness in Government, including the routine disclosure and publication online of substantial amounts of information about the workings of Government.