STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER
PUBLIC DUTY AND PRIVATE INTERESTS
For the information of honourable members I present
copies of the statements which Ministers have provided
to me concerning their private interests. My own return
is, of course, also included.
Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a statement.
The statements of private interests which I have
presented to the House represent a landmark in the
development of this Parliament and in the provision of
information to the public about the Ministers to whom
that public has entrusted the government of this
country. Never before in the history of this Parliament have
Ministers disclosed publicly the private interests which
they hold.
It is right and proper that they should do so. The
public the electors of this country are entitled to
have confidence in the integrity of their elected
representatives; to know that Ministers of the
Government will perform their duties without fear or
favour; to be reassured that a Minister's private
interests whatever they may be do not conflict with
his or her public duties in holding the high office of a
Minister in the Federal Government.
With those beliefs in mind the Australian Labor Party
has long held the view that public disclosure of the
private interests of Ministers and of others, to whom
I shall refer later is appropriate.
I want to turn now to some of the details of the system
of declaration of private interests which the Government
has decided upon.
In respect of Ministers, there are two statements of
private interests. The first is a statement in general
terms of the interests held by a Minister and those of
his or her immediate family ( that is, spouse and
dependent children) of which he, or she, is aware. It
is required to be provided on an annual basis ( with any
significant changes in the meantime also disclosed to
me) and will cover:
shareholdings in public and private companies
family and business trusts and nominee
companies
real estate
S directorships in private companies
and I should make it clear that Ministers are
required to resign any directorships in public
companies and directorships of private companies
unless, for example, such companies operate a
family farm, business or investments and the
retention of the directorship is not likely to
conflict with the public duty of the Minister
partnerships liabilities, other than short-term credit
arrangements bonds, debentures and like investments
savings or investment accounts
other assets ( including collections but
excluding household and personal effects) each
valued at over $ 5000
that is, each collection valued at more than $ 5000,
other than any used for household purposes, will be
declared other substantial sources of income
in relation to which I should say that Ministers of
this Government may not derive any income through
personal exertion other than as a Minister and a
member of this Parliament
gifts valued at more than $ 250 received from
official sources or in excess of $ 100 from
non-official sources, in accordance with
agreed guidelines
sponsored travel or hospitality ( other than
' guest of government' hospitality)
bearing in mind there are long-standing
restrictions on Ministers in that respect
and finally, any other interests ( such as
membership of organisations) where a conflict
of interest with public duties could
foreseeably arise.
I have mentioned some of the particular restrictions
which are placed on Ministers. So that all members of
the House, and the public, are aware of the full extent
of those restrictions I shall mention other
requirements.
Ministers, upon appointment as Ministers, must cease to
engage in any professional practice or in the daily work
of any business; nor, as I have mentioned, can they
derive any income through personal exertion other than
as a Minister or a member of this Parliament.
Ministers have to divest themselves of shares or similar
interests in any company or business involved in the
area of their portfolio responsibilities.
Ministers have to make a declaration at meetings of the
Cabinet or its Committees of any matter which may give
rise to a conflict of interests.
And should any particular conflict of interest arise
during the course of Ministers' administration of their
Departments, I have to be informed so that a decision
can be made on how the particular matter is to be
progressed.
From the statements I have presented, honourable members
will see that money amounts of individual Ministers'
interests whether income, assets or liabilities have
not been included. It is the Government's belief that
public disclosure of that information would be an undue
invasion of the privacy of Ministers and of their
families. Ministers, however, have declared those
amounts to me in a private and confidential statement.
This is the second of the statements to which I referred
earlier which will also be required to be provided on an
annual basis.
I turn now to provisions which might be applied to
senators and members generally.
I remarked earlier on the right of the public to have
confidence in the integrity of its elected
representatives. While that confidence demands
particularly high standards in Government Ministers it
also demands certain standards of each and every member
of this House and each and every member of the Senate.
The Government therefore proposes that all senators and
members should disclose by way of a public register
their own private interests, and those interests of
their families of which they are aware. The details to
be disclosed would be no more than are in the Ministers'
statements which I have presented today. In one
important respect they would be much less: there would
be no requirement to disclose money values at all.
The Government also proposes that the Standing Orders be
amended to require all members to declare a relevant
interest if they participate in a debate or vote in a
division in the House. Standing orders already make
certain provisions in respect of committee membership
where a member has a personal interest in the subject
matter before the committee.
It is the Government's intention that the precise method
of implementation of the provisions to apply to senators
and members should be examined by the Standing Orders
Committees of the respective Houses, meeting as
necessary as a joint committee to ensure that the
provisions are as far as possible consistent between the
two Houses. In addition, it is intended that the
Standing Orders Committee should be asked to report upon
whether, as proposed in the Bowen Report on Public Duty
and Private Interest, a Code of Conduct should apply to
all senators and members and if so what form it should
take and how it should be implemented. The Committee
will also be asked to look at the other recommendations
of the Bowen Report ( apart from those relating to the
Constitution) affecting senators and members. My
colleague the Leader of the House will be presenting
a notice of motion today giving further details and
proposing referral to the Standing Orders Committee for
consideration and report. One question is whether the
registration system should be compulsory or voluntary.
If the House ultimately decides upon the latter and a
member refuses to provide a statement I am sure that
people especially the electors concerned will be
able to make their own judgement about that particular
member. Mr Speaker, some may argue that any system of
registration of private interests should be confined to
the public'selected representatives. We believe,
however, that the public is entitled to have confidence
in the integrity of the wider machinery of government;
in the integrity of public administration generally.
Therefore, the Government has decided that senior public
servants, statutory officeholders, senior staff of
statutory authorities, and all ministerial staff will be
required to furnish a statement of their private
interests similar to the public statement required of
Ministers that is, containing details of the interests
I mentioned earlier, but not as to their money amounts.
The statements will not be public but, in the case of
public servants and members and staff of statutory
authorities, will be available to the relevant Minister
and to the head of the department or authority
concerned. In the case of ministerial staff the
statements will be available to the relevant Minister,
to the Special Minister of State, and to me. The Public
Service Board or, in the case of statutory authorities,
the responsible Minister, will be informing the people
concerned of the requirements in the near future. The
Department of the Special Minister of State will be
contacting ministerial staff to the extent that their
present statements do not cover the requirements I have
announced today.
On such an important matter as this, Mr Speaker, I could
not conclude without a reference to those who work in
this building and whose task it is to report upon our
L
activities via the media. They enjoy particular
privileges and rights of access including to the
galleries of this Chamber which many other people do
not. They are there, however, not only to report upon
words spoken in this House but to express views and
opinions on the actions and decisions of the Government
as a whole, individual members and, occasionally, the
Opposition. The Government therefore believes that it would be
consistent with its overall approach to this particular
matter if the Australian Journalists' Association and
the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery were invited to
develop a similar system of disclosure of the private
interests of journalists of those media organisations
accredited to or using the facilities of the Parliament,
and all members of the media who have quarters in or
work from Parliament House. My colleague the Special
Minister of State will be pursuing these aspects in the
near future.
Mr Speaker, the Government's decisions on this matter
are the culmination of the work of many people over many
years. The parliamentary committee which reported in
1975, chaired by the then member for Phillip, Joe
11.
Riordan, made a most significant contribution to a
proper system of registration of private interests. One
cannot overlook, also, the comprehensive report of the
Committee of Inquiry into Public Duty and Private
Interest, chaired by Sir Nigel Bowen.
The arrangements I have announced today represent a new
extension in parliamentary democracy. The electors of
this country have a right to be confident that those
whom they send to represent them in this Parliament will
do so in all matters without fear or favour. A large
part of that confidence rests in the public knowledge
that the private interests of the elected member
whether a Minister, a Government backbencher or an
Opposition member will not influence, nor will they be
likely to influence, the discharge of his or her public
duties in whatever capacity he or she may serve in this
Parliament. 22 September 1983