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GetUp!

FEDERAL ICAC NOW: Bring integrity back into politics!

The Morrison Government have blocked a parliamentary investigation into Porter's use of a blind trust for legal fees — the first time a referral of this kind has been thrown out since Federation.1,2

They're terrified of accountability — and are ramping up their fight to shut down the campaign for a strong Federal ICAC, blasting it in the media and gearing up to legislate a toothless version that'd be worse than nothing.3

It'll take a huge people power push and significant political pressure to force them to adopt a strong Federal ICAC — and that's exactly what our movement is gearing up to do.

If enough of us chip in, we'll be able to scale up our campaign blitz — hitting marginal seats, key demographics with hard-hitting billboards and posters.

No matter where Scott Morrison looks, he won't be able to avoid the growing calls for a Federal ICAC.

Can you chip in?
We're underway with building our national campaign blitz for integrity laws, leveraging this moment to force Morrison to support a strong Federal ICAC before the election. And with every dollar donated, we can increase the scale and power of this campaign to ensure every decision-maker is moved by the public call for a Federal ICAC.

Here's what we'll do:

  • An ad blitz and stunts in Canberra when Parliament sits in late November – and when up to four bills on integrity commissions could be debated. We'll paint the town, ride around with eye-catching bike billboards, and take the fight for a Federal ICAC to the airwaves.

  • Polling on key demographics Morrison needs to win to demonstrate how politically disastrous it will be to continue distancing himself from a Federal ICAC with teeth.

  • Greeting Morrison with posters plastered across his electorate of Cook. He's been hard to get hold of, but we're hoping to welcome him back from his overseas trips with fresh calls for a Federal ICAC – right at his doorstep.

    An election could be called as early as this year or as late as March – but no matter when it is, we're ready to push forward and demand the Coalition backs a real Federal ICAC and clean up the mess in our politics.
The anonymous $1 million dollar donation to Porter's personal legal fees — a revelation that raises serious questions about Porter's independence and political integrity — is an example of what a strong integrity commission could investigate. Here are some more to jog your memory:

  • Sports Rorts. The sport rorts scandal saw the Morrison Government favour marginal electorates over other communities in allocating $100 million of grants.4

  • Great Barrier Reef Rort. The Coalition gave $400 million of Great Barrier Reef funding to an obscure foundation set up by corporate interests – including fossil fuel corporations – that has failed to deliver on its promises.5

  • Dodgy Documents. Angus Taylor used suspicious and seemingly altered documents to attack the climate credentials of independent Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. His claims the documents were downloaded from the council's website were unsubstantiated and police investigations were dropped.6

  • Jet-Setting Ministers. Scott Morrison approved over $100,000 in luxury jet flights for ex-Minister Matthias Cormann while Liberal Minister Stuart Robert made us pay for his $2,000 internet bills.7,8

Scott Morrison has already proposed a low-quality, toothless national integrity body after conceding to relentless community pressure — but experts found it was so weak it would have lacked power to investigate dozens of integrity, expense and pork-barrelling controversies that have come to light in recent years.9

We need a strong Federal anti-integrity body with the power to fearlessly investigate integrity breaches and hold those responsible to account.
[1] Government blocks Labor push to investigate Christian Porter's blind trust, The Guardian, 21 October 2021.
[2] House of Representatives Hansard, page 78, 20 October 2021.
[3] Federal body 'not like ICAC monster', says Amanda Stoker, The Australian, 4 October 2021.
[4] Remember sports rorts? Here's why we mustn't forget that shameful episode, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 October 2020.
[5] Controversial Great Barrier Reef grant did not comply with transparency rules, National Audit Office says, ABC News, 16 January 2019.
[6] Angus Taylor 'misled Parliament' in doctored documents saga: Labor, Australian Financial Review, 26 April 2020.
[7] Scott Morrison defends taxpayer-funded private jet for Mathias Cormann's OECD bid. Sydney Morning Herald, 25 November 2020.
[8] Stuart Robert charged taxpayers $2,000 a month for his home internet, The Guardian, 5 October 2018.
[9] 'Coalition's proposed anti-corruption commission would have no power to investigate recent controversies', The Guardian, 9 July 2021.