Integrity in Government
SIP-01/2020
Key Summary:
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Delivering good public policy is hard. Good public policy is distorted when integrity is lacking, or where corruption is present. When it is, policy objectives are damaged and trust is diminished. This policy brief provides a general framing of issues
In 2012 Australia鈥檚 ranking on the (global) Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International was 7th out of 180 nation states. By 2020 it had slipped to 13th. Either ranking would be the envy of most nations, but to have fallen by 6 places is a matter of concern for Australia. We can do better, and there is a case for a national integrity commission. The case has been presented in a preliminary report of an ARC Linkage project.[1]
Governments use their resources and capacity to deliver public value. When corruption exists, or where integrity is wanting then the government鈥檚 policy processes and administrative skills are undermined. A national integrity agency should be a keen watchdog, but that alone will not ensure that corruption is controlled and that integrity will underpin all that government does.
Australia does not have a corruption crisis. Integrity generally is of a high standard. This is why any breaches are seized upon and why they cause widespread distress. Our state anti-corruption agencies are kept extremely busy with investigations that uncover irregularities, but certainly most politicians and public servants behave with integrity and good intent.
When asked in the constitutional values survey in 2008 鈥渉ow much trust and confidence do you have in the commonwealth government鈥 81.6% of Australians answered either a great deal or a fair amount. When asked the same question a decade later in 2018, that proportion had fallen to 46.0%.[1] We have seen regular integrity breaches 鈥 sports rorts, travel allowance irregularities, poor procurement decisions, revolving door arrangements, but always officials and politicians say they broke no rules. That may well be so, but it does not always pass the pub test. What we need are not more rules, but more integrity. Two thirds of Australians support a federal anti-corruption agency.[1]
It is important to distinguish the roles of politicians and public servants. They are subject to different types of scrutiny. While anti-corruption agencies have jurisdiction over the vast proportion of employe