A report, released on Saturday, by the Centre for Public Integrity details the need for law-making safeguards to ensure Australia’s legislative process produces high-quality, evidence-based laws that deliver public confidence.  

The report highlights concerning recent examples of the Federal Government bypassing Parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation in relation to significant law reforms to Freedom of Information and the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.   

Independent Member for Curtin Kate Chaney echoed the need to strengthen and protect parliamentary and community input in law-making in line with community expectations.  

“After the 2022 election, this Government indicated that it would be delivering greater transparency and accountability.  But increasingly, legislation is being rushed through without adequate time for parliamentarians to consider it fully, or for communities or experts to have the chance to inform Government about potential consequences,” Ms Chaney said. 

 “The Freedom of Information ‘reforms’ were appalling and were pushed through the House in record time.  My attempt to refer them to a committee was rejected, despite overwhelming support from experts and previous inquiries. The crossbench worked in good faith to identify major flaws and improvements, but the Government was determined to rush through more secrecy.  

“The timeline for the EPBC Act was ridiculous – the biggest change to our environmental laws in a generation were rushed through in a week. I was pleased the Government accepted one of my amendments, but the crossbench presented another 119 amendments in good faith, all of which were rejected. Our communities have a right to be heard and our democracy is meant to provide that right.” 

The report proposes a legislative integrity framework to strengthen law-making including:  

• independent policy development with better public consultation;  

• greater transparency in exposure draft consultation; 

• ensuring robust parliamentary scrutiny of bills; and 

• mandatory reviews of laws after their implementation.  

“Strong democracies depend upon informed, transparent, and accountable law-making processes. Australians expect our laws to be evidence-based and consider the needs and views of the community,” Ms Chaney said.  

“Our law-making processes have the potential to rebuild trust but are being poorly used.  I recently pushed the Government on its failure to respond to more than 50 parliamentary committee inquiries, covering some of Australia’s most urgent policy challenges such as terrorism, illicit drugs, online safety, and migration.  

“The Government is sitting on its hands in relation to a body of work that provides evidence-based solutions to some of the most challenging and complex areas of policymaking and law reform.  

“The committee recommendations ignored by the Government represent the time, effort and resources of more than 3,500 experts, industry bodies, academics and everyday Australians who made submissions and gave evidence at hearings in good faith. They believed the Government was listening.  

“Dismissing community input and expert advice diminishes public trust in law-making and misses the exceptional opportunity to improve the quality of our policies and laws.”  

This week, Ms Chaney hosted Centre for Public Integrity executive director Dr Catherine Williams in her electorate of Curtin. Their discussion about declining trust and how government can respond was attended by more than 120 people, with a further 1300 watching online. 

“Integrity matters to everyone. Trust in government is in decline. The Government must step up instead of sidestepping its requirement to be transparent and accountable to the Australian public,” Ms Chaney said. 

ENDS   

Media enquiries: 
Cade Smith | Media and Communications Adviser 
[email protected] | 0408 997 003