The Greens welcome the Integrity Commission’s investigation of gift policies in the public sector.
It is standard practice in public and private agencies throughout Australia to reject gifts, or gifts over a certain value.
The perception of non-corruptibility is just as important as the reality. We want everyone in the community, including public servants to understand the concept of conflict of interest.
It’s no secret the government doesn’t want a watchdog looking into misconduct and corruption in this state.
It’s vital that Tasmania has a misconduct and anti-corruption commission with the power to check how our tax dollars are spent.
If the government got its way, we’d be the only state in the country that wasn’t investigating misconduct and corruption.
Infallibility in public office is crucial, which is why the Greens tabled the Criminal Code (Misconduct in Public Office) Bill and will be debating it this week.
• Will Hodgman: Integrity Commission Own Motion Report … While the Government takes any accusations of impropriety by State Servants very seriously, I note that there is no evidence to suggest that the receipt of any gift by any public servant has led to an actual or perceived bias in decision-making by those employees. In the majority of cases the gifts and hospitality reported by the Commission amount to cups of coffee and seasonal tokens. Where more substantial undeclared gifts have been identified, it is the Government’s view that this is appropriately a matter for the relevant head of agency to deal with. …
• ABC: ‘Systemic’ failure surrounding acceptance of gifts by Tasmania’s public servants
