Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will have to decide whether to walk with independent MPs toward greater disclosure or side with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on a more cautious approach, writes David Crowe | ANALYSIS
The problem? The Victorian law tells the commission that it should hold public hearings only in exceptional circumstances. Given this benchmark, the IBAC decided against.Albanese could get the bill through the Senate with support from Dutton after the opposition leader signalled this week he could agree to the NACC. It might help the new commission to have solid bipartisan support from the start.
Albanese could, instead, get the bill through the Senate with support from the Greens, independent David Pocock and, most likely, Tasmanian crossbenchers Jacqui Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell. There could also be a political advantage for Albanese in isolating Dutton and making him look weak on corruption when or if the Coalition baulks at the changed language on hearings.The other path involves a political risk for Albanese if Greens leader Adam Bandt frames the outcome as a dirty deal between the two major parties.
In some ways, this is a good argument to have. Parliament is finally voting on a strong integrity commission. Advocates for this reform are satisfied with almost everything Dreyfus has proposed.