Democracy rally: What Jeremy said

Jeremy Rockliff MP

We are greatly concerned that a recent Morgan poll showed that not only did sixty per cent of Tasmanians who were interviewed believe the Lennon Government is soft on corruption, but alarmingly that one in ten of them think the government actually encourages it. These were the worst results of any state or territory – and might I add – released prior to further scandals that we all recently had to bare witness to.
Healthy Democracy/Anti Corruption
Public Meeting – Tasmanians for a Healthy Democracy
7.00 pm, Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Tailrace Convention Centre, Riverside
Jeremy Rockliff MP
Acting Leader of the State Opposition

LADIES and Gentlemen is thank you for the opportunity as Acting Leader of the State Opposition to address the public meeting tonight.

Because I recognise and understand, that recent parliamentary events have greatly disturbed the Tasmanian community.

Confidence in the standards of governance in Tasmania has deteriorated to an all time low, and never before has public trust in the governance of this State has hit such depths and been so blatantly abused.

We have a State Government that repeatedly treats the citizens of Tasmania with the utmost contempt.

And it is totally failing any standard of accountability and transparency.

Standards of probity, that the people of Tasmania both deserve and have an absolute right to expect from their elected government representatives.

Yet instead, what do they have?

Elected government representatives who are revealed as being caught up in a web of deceit and denial.

Elected government representatives declared as unsatisfactory witnesses by the Supreme Court.

Elected government representatives caught lying in the Parliament and forced to resign.

And elected representatives in a government, whose actions have been described in the national press as being ‘rotten to the core’.

It is no wonder that throughout the State, from every walk of life, and across all shades of the political spectrum, people are feeling betrayed by the failure of their government.

People are angry that their State is being compared to the ‘Queensland of the 1970’s – when cronyism, nepotism and corruption was rife.
2
We know full well that disenchantment and cynicism now abounds in the community and that the workings of our Parliament have became a matter of derision and tabloid entertainment rather than those of an institution instilling confidence and pride in the Tasmanian people.

We are greatly concerned that a recent Morgan poll showed that not only did sixty per cent of Tasmanians who were interviewed believe the Lennon Government is soft on corruption, but alarmingly that one in ten of them think the government actually encourages it. These were the worst results of any state or territory – and might I add – released prior to further scandals that we all recently had to bare witness to.

– That is a damming finding, damaging not only for the reputation of the Premier and the government, but also having potentially serious and long-term damaging implications for the whole of the State – as a place in which to live, to do business or to invest. We cannot afford to have our State’s reputation repeatedly trashed in such a destructive way.

On behalf of my colleagues, let me assure you that the Tasmanian Liberal Partly have a fundamental commitment to raising the standard of parliamentary behaviour and accountability to make sure that events such as those that have occurred during Premier Lennon’s term of office never happen again.

We believe that integrity and truth are not simply hollow words that can be bandied about, without any accompanying sense of obligation and responsibility.

The matters that have rocked the Tasmanian government in recent months are serious matters…matters that have once again plunged the government into crisis mode.

The poor handling of these events by the Premier and his Ministers has served also to considerably distract Parliament from conducting other important government business that is also desperately needed for the people of Tasmania.

At a time when our health service is in crisis, educational standards are falling and business confidence is faltering, we have had to play, in the interests of accountability – ‘catch me if you can’ – with the Premier and Mr Kons.

At a time, when all efforts could be focused on making the State as economically secure, as productive and as sustainable as possible, we have had to listen to Ministerial filibustering and denial.

We urgently need to stop the rot, the denial and the cover-ups, the totally unacceptable standards of behaviour that have permeated our parliament far too often in recent months.

We need to restore integrity and accountability.

We need to restore principled and ethical behaviour.

Ladies and Gentlemen in the United Kingdom in May 1995 a report entitled the “First Report of the Committee on Standards of Public Life” was released.

This report has become regarded as the ‘measure’ for Westminster democracies.

This report details the seven principles of public life: The principles of:
3
Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty & Leadership

Ladies and Gentlemen we need an institution in Tasmania that has the resources to promote and the power to enforce the Seven Principles of Public Life.

The Tasmanian Liberals would introduce a number of specific measures giving effect to our commitment to improving governance and accountability, including:

For one, the establishment of an appropriately structured, independent, ethics and anti-corruption authority in Tasmania.

Indeed, we have been calling for an inquiry into the establishment of such a body since 2004.

Under our proposals, such an authority would be charged with dealing with cases of corruption and maladministration, as well as with providing advice to parliamentarians on ethics, probity and parliamentary standards.

Two, the establishment of a Parliamentary Standards Commissioner whose responsibilities would include the monitoring of parliamentary standards and the receiving and investigating of complaints regarding parliamentary accountability.

Including Ministerial responsibility, and adherence to the Ministerial code of conduct.

And three, the enforcement of a rigorous Code of Ethics.

For both parliamentarians and for public officials alike.

Ladies and Gentlemen, This lack of accountability, this lack of integrity and this lack of humility by the Lennon government has got to stop.

Acts of retribution, evasion, destruction of documents and the misleading of Parliament strike at the very heart of our democratic system of parliamentary democracy and the traditional separation of powers between the executive government, the judiciary and the parliament.

Tasmanians are entitled to better. Much better.

They are entitled to know when they will get the quality of government that we so desperately require if this State is ever going to prosper and advance in the way it needs to, and in the way that we know it can.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Through our actions now as a responsible Opposition, and through our policies for the future should we win government, the Tasmanian Liberals are committed to restoring integrity and public confidence in our governance and public institutions.

Thankyou

Click here for the full Tasmanian Times debate on accountability and transparency: Democracy Tasmania