Motions

Statement of Principles for Members of Parliament

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform) (15:47): I move:

That this house adopts the following Statement of Principles for Members of Parliament:

1. Members of parliament are in a unique position of being accountable to the electorate. The electorate is the final arbiter of the conduct of members of parliament and has the right to dismiss them from office at elections.

2. Members of parliament have a responsibility to maintain the public trust placed in them by performing their duties with fairness, honesty and integrity, subject to the laws of the state and rules of the parliament, and using their influence to advance the common good of the people of South Australia.

3. Political parties and political activities are a part of the democratic process. Participation in political parties and political activities is within the legitimate activities of members of parliament.

4. Members of parliament should declare any conflict of interest between their private financial interests and decisions in which they participate in the execution of their duties. Members must declare their interests as required by the Members of Parliament (Register of Interests) Act 1983 and declare their interests when speaking on a matter in the house or a committee in accordance with the standing orders.

5. A conflict of interest does not exist where the member is only affected as a member of the public or a member of a broad class.

6. Members of parliament should not promote any matter, vote on any bill or resolution, or ask any question in the parliament or its committees in return for any financial or pecuniary benefit.

7. In accordance with the requirements of the Members of Parliament (Register of Interests) Act 1983, members of parliament should declare all gifts and benefits received in connection with their official duties, including contributions made to any fund for a member's benefit.

8. Members of parliament should not accept gifts or other considerations that create a conflict of interest.

9. Members of parliament should apply the public resources with which they are provided for the purpose of carrying out their duties.

10. Members of parliament should not knowingly and improperly use official information, which is not in the public domain, or information obtained in confidence in the course of their parliamentary duties, for private benefit.

11. Members of parliament should act with civility in their dealings with the public, ministers and other members of parliament and the Public Service.

12. Members of parliament should always be mindful of their responsibility to accord due respect to their right of freedom of speech with parliament and not to misuse this right, consciously avoiding underserved harm to an individual.

And that upon election and re-election to parliament, within 14 days of taking and subscribing the oath or making and subscribing an affirmation as a member of parliament, each member must sign an acknowledgement to confirm they have read and accept the statement of principles.

On adoption of this motion, a message will be sent to the Legislative Council transmitting the foregoing resolution and requesting its concurrence thereto.

I rise to say a few words about this motion which is before the parliament and, of course, the motion deals with the adoption by this house of a statement of principles. I want to say a few things about this, obviously, and I know others will speak. As I gaze across the chamber, I see the member for Bragg, and I recall when both of us were a little younger that we were involved in a very early iteration of this project. The idea that we are still both here, 10 years later, we are still gazing at one another across the chamber, and we are still talking about this, says a great deal about how things change and yet how things remain the same. It is quite philosophical actually.

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon: Sit down and contemplate that.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I might contemplate that for a while. Anyway this is a matter of public confidence in us as elected members and it is very important. The government recognises the need to improve public confidence and this motion is part of a suite of measures to reform the operation of this place and to strengthen the structures that support public integrity. Through my time as minister, I have a list of legislative achievements—of which I am reasonably proud, I suppose—that promote greater public integrity.

These include the Independent Commissioner against Corruption Act of 2012, the Electoral (Funding, Expenditure and Disclosure) Amendment Act of 2013, and I hope a bill currently in another place will join with these other achievements, and I did speak briefly about that this morning. For anyone who is wanting to know what I am talking about, I spoke about that this morning in the context of a notice of motion, but I will not burden you by repeating anything I said then.

This motion also pays tribute, importantly, to the legacy of the Hon. Dr Bob Such MP, and the member for Bragg and I would recall that he was on that committee when we served on it a few years back. Dr Such always sought to hold himself to the highest possible standards and will long remain an example of how members of parliament should seek to conduct themselves.

As I was saying before, some years ago I joined Dr Such and others, including, of course, as I said, the member for Bragg, on a committee to consider a code of conduct for elected members. The words we are considering today, in fact, were recommended by that committee. For a number of reasons, of course, this statement of principles has not as yet been adopted by the chamber or in the other place for that matter and, whatever the case, I believe that, particularly in light of the significant number of additional measures that are in place to ensure integrity in other public officials and statutory officers, it is now the right time to adopt this statement of principles to apply to ourselves as well.

It should be noted that the statement commences by articulating that we are accountable to the electorate, and, of course, that does make us somewhat unique compared with public servants or other people, in the sense that we—or at least those of us in this house—go before the electorate every four years for endorsement or otherwise.

It should be noted that the statement commences, as I said, 'The electorate is the final arbiter.' As elected leaders of our communities, public judgement our conduct is constant, with a judgement cast at the ballot box every four years. The statement, of course, does not change that. What it is seeking to do is to lift the public standing of our profession as politicians by listing principles by which we should all seek to abide.

Most professions have some kind of code or public statement to which reference can be made. We are seeking to make a public statement that we are committing to certain standards of behaviour. Broadly speaking, my experience of MPs in South Australia on both sides is of upstanding community leaders who truly wish to contribute to the continued improvement of our state. Notwithstanding this, it is clear to me that the community does not hold politicians or our work in the highest esteem. This has some important consequences that likely act to the detriment of our state.

We need politics to be a competition of ideas prosecuted by some of the finest minds in our state. If aspiring young people who can make a strong and positive contribution to our state and our future are put off from service because of how they believe they will be perceived by their community, by their friends and their family, then we have a serious problem. As I look at some of my young colleagues, I note that this is not taking hold just yet—not yet, thank goodness.

But the risk does remain and it appears to be getting only a stronger risk, and that is why the government is so focused on promoting public integrity. We are seeking to improve public trust in all our public institutions, and parliament is key amongst them. I believe that, as members of parliament, we are all under intense scrutiny. There are a number of strict guidelines to which we already need to adhere, and it is appropriate that we make this statement about our conduct. I commend the motion to the house and I look forward to the statement of principles being adopted.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Gardner.