Australia politics live news: Albanese to campaign virtually after Covid diagnosis; Morrison attacks Icac again; 29 Covid deaths

Then there is this exchange between the pair, where Scott Morrison once again attacks the NSW independent commission against corruption.

Andrew Clennell covered NSW state politics for years, so he is on solid ground when questioning the PM on this, but even he seems taken aback by the force of Morrison’s defence.

AC: You got a couple of questions from the People’s Forum the other night about an integrity commission and integrity in politics. If you don’t have politicians subject to public hearings, or search warrants with your model, is that a bit of a protection racket for politicians?

Morrison:

Our integrity commission model has been well designed – 367 pages of legislation $60m budgeted proactively to do its job, has very strong powers…

AC: But it protects politicians.

Morrison:

No, it doesn’t. It applies the same rules to everybody – public servants, politicians, and it focused on issues of criminal behaviour. It isn’t a process of trying people, frankly, in the media that we’ve seen through the Icac process, it doesn’t get into salacious public hearings about whose people’s boyfriends are and run out of jobs, runs people out of jobs before the commission has even finalised it’s results.

AC: She [Gladys Berejiklian] resigned and she chose to resign.

Morrison:

So are you suggesting that what happened and the way that that issue was handled by Icac didn’t contribute to the premier actually deciding to stand down and the way I think quite disgracefully matters of her own public [he means private] life were aired in public.

I mean, the same thing has been very, the same thing happened to Nick Greiner. The same thing happened to Barry O’Farrell. We’ve seen it too many times. These matters should be done in a proper legal process.

AC: Well, Barry O’Farrell …

Morrison:

… where all rights are respected, all rights are respected. And that’s the sort of serious model that I want. I don’t want to show trial. I don’t want a kangaroo court

AC: I understand that.

Morrison:

I want a real integrity commission that’s properly funded. That is legislated. The Labor party has a two-page fact sheet about what they’re modelling, I’ve got real legislation.

AC: Daryl Maguire was taking cash from developers to lobby government officials and he was saying to Gladys Berejiklian, was talking to her about this to her on the phone and she was saying “I don’t need to know about that”. Now does that does that all look above board to you, prime minister?

Morrison:

And those serious matters of any potential criminality on the part of Mr Maguire can be dealt with under the type of model that we’re proposing under the under our integrity commission. Absolutely. Things that involve criminal behaviour.

AC: She wouldn’t be examined, under that model.

Morrison:

Well, if there was any suggestion, and no one has made that suggestion about Gladys Berejiklian. No one at all.

But what we saw in that rather ugly process is a as a strong woman’s private life paraded through in a, I thought just an appalling way.

And I think people from New South Wales, I’m from New South Wales, Gladys did an amazing job to help New South Wales through the pandemic, and the way she was treated in that I just found quite sickening and I think a lot of people did.

That’s not the sort of integrity commission that I think works.

I think the sort of integrity commission that works is the well-thought-through one which has proper rules, which protects the integrity of the process, and protects the integrity of how government is run.