Two thirds of Australians think corruption a big problem: time for action

Data shows more Australians are concerned about political corruption and doubt the Government’s ability to clean up our democracy, Greens Leader in the Senate, Senator Larissa Waters said.
Today’s report from Griffith University and Transparency International Australia found the number of Australians who view corruption as a “very big” or “quite big” problem, rising from 61% in 2018 to 66% in 2020. The number of those who think the federal government is handling corruption issues “very badly” has also risen from 15% to 19.4% over the same period.
Senator Larissa Waters, the Greens spokesperson for Democracy, said:
“The Morrison Government needs to wake up and realise they aren’t fooling anyone: two thirds of Australians now think political corruption in Australia is a serious problem, and they are right.
“The influence of big donors on policy-making is institutionalised, the public interest is constantly being traded for political interest, and the Prime Minister continues to throw integrity overboard by failing to act on the ongoing, multiple scandals involving his ministers.
“The Government is trying to muzzle effective accountability body, the ANAO, by starving it of funding so that audit capacity will be reduced by 20% over three years, while dragging its heels on a weak and utterly belated corruption watchdog almost a year my bill for one passed the Senate.
“Porter’s sham integrity commission has been designed to shield his mates from proper scrutiny. It wants one rule for its politicians, and another for everyone else.
“We are still waiting for the Prime Minister to call my federal corruption watchdog with teeth on for a vote in the House of Representatives, almost a year after the Senate passed it. Instead, the Government is conducting a  sham consultation on a model the public and the experts all say isn’t good enough.
“It’s starving the ANAO of the funds needed to do its job, it’s threatening journalists and whistle blowers, and it has rejected the Greens calls for a parliamentary code of conduct to prevent exactly the sort of behaviour Australians have grown sick of.
“To Morrison, I say: tick tock. I’m not the only one getting fed up with your government’s bad behaviour and delaying tactics.”