While the changes are necessary and important, they will make little difference unless Albanese is taken seriously when implementing them.
Albanese said the new code “fulfilled the government’s promise to be open and accountable.”
However, the federal ministerial code of conduct are simply words on a page without legal force. Ultimately, it is up to the prime minister to decide when an offense has been committed and whether it is serious enough to merit dismissal from the cabinet or any other sanction. There is no independent execution mechanism.
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the equivalent document a “statement of ministerial standards” that was probably more accurate, given that it is only a vague set of guidelines.
Other jurisdictions have independent mechanisms for enforcing codes of conduct. For example, in NSW, the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission has the power to investigate serious violations of the ministerial code of conduct and draw conclusions about corrupt conduct.
Canada has an independent ethics commissioner with the power to initiate investigations.
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It remains to be seen whether the new federal integrity commission will have similar competence.
In the meantime, it is up to Albanese to show that he takes the ethical standards he proclaims seriously.
Morrison spoke of a great game, but his implementation of the rules was disappointing. John Howard fired five ministers in his first term to show he was serious about the conduct, but Morrison was wrong and delayed rather than set an example.
It took Morrison too long to move Porter out of the attorney general’s portfolio despite the potential conflict of interest Porter faced as head of the justice system when he was under the cloud of allegations of misconduct in the past. .
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The credibility of Morrison’s code was also undermined by his procedures for investigating possible breaches.
He delegated the task to Prime Minister and Cabinet Phil Gaetjens, who was not considered independent because he was previously Morrison’s chief of staff.
When then-Education Minister Alan Tudge was the subject of allegations of emotional and physical abuse by former employee Rachelle Miller, Morrison appointed a former senior official to investigate, which led to an improvement. , but Miller believed the terms of reference were manipulated and rejected. take part.
Morrison was wrong to the last about whether he had fired or simply fired Tudge from the cabinet.
Albanian should not be hidden behind words of weasel and double bureaucratic speech in the implementation of this code. He must keep his ministers to the highest standards.
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