Our democracy is in crisis. Crucial reforms to improve transparency, reduce undue influence and improve the quality of public debate are well overdue. We must address these integrity issues to restore public trust in the democratic process.
democracy
The planned introduction of a Private Members’ Bill to establish a Whistleblower Protection Authority has been warmly welcomed by Transparency International Australia and the Human Rights Law Centre. The Whistleblower Protection Authority Bill to be announced today by Andrew Wilkie MP, Dr Helen Haines MP, Senator David Pocock and Senator Jacqui Lambie would establish a dedicated, independent agency to safeguard those who speak up from inside government or business about corruption and wrongdoing.
The lack of transparency of Commonwealth political donations has long been criticised. We welcome the Government’s proposal to reduce the donation disclosure threshold to $1,000 and finally implement real-time disclosure. However, we are united in our view that the Government’s proposed Bill should otherwise not proceed in its current form.
Australians believe the government is prioritising the views of big business over ordinary people and want the Albanese Government to close secret donation loopholes, according to new polling commissioned by the #OurDemocracy campaign.
Extreme politicisation of the public service erodes trust in our democracy writes CEO Clancy Moore in his latest opinion piece that welcomes the government’s strong and swift action against Michael Pezzullo’s.
This submission demonstrates the importance of addressing corruption and promoting good governance for democracy, inclusive development and poverty alleviation in the Indo-Pacific region.