Bills

Royal Commissions (Extraterritorial Application) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (10:36): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Royal Commissions Act 1917. Read a first time.

Second Reading

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (10:36): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am introducing this bill, which seeks to make an amendment to the Royal Commissions Act 1917. The opposition has sought to urgently introduce this bill following the commonwealth government and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority both seeking an injunction to prevent commonwealth officials from having to appear before the South Australian royal commission. The news that the Liberal-National commonwealth government will be seeking an injunction to the High Court of Australia to prevent a royal commission from looking into serious allegations of water theft and potential corruption is deeply disappointing to South Australians.

It is deeply disappointing because South Australians understand the importance of the River Murray, the importance of it as a natural asset as well as it being an important source for meeting our critical water needs, particularly for farmers and businesses. It was the former Labor government that took the fight to save the River Murray to the Eastern States and the commonwealth following the devastating Millennium Drought, a drought that took our city to the brink of running out of drinking water for our community.

That is why, after fighting so hard to ensure a Murray-Darling Basin Plan was put in place, the reports aired on 24 July 2017 of alleged water theft and corruption were so galling. The ABC's Four Corners program—an excellent program from an excellent and unbiased institution—aired disturbing allegations about serious and systemic water theft, corruption and maladministration involving water in the Murray-Darling Basin. The allegations involved the use of hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers' money to buy water that was meant to be returned to the River Murray for its sustainability.

The program raised serious questions about where that money has gone, allegations about National Party donors benefiting, allegations about secret phone calls and the release of documents, all with a single purpose of undermining the basin plan that South Australians had fought so hard to achieve. In the days, weeks and months after Four Corners, further allegations of water theft and corruption were coming to light, and it became clear that there was little appetite at the federal level or from the New South Wales Liberal-National government to investigate the allegations.

Instead, a series of piecemeal reviews were announced with narrow terms of reference and no powers to actually compel people to give evidence or to hand over documentation to adequately look into the depth and breadth of the allegations undermining the basin plan that is so important to our nation's future. Frankly, that was not good enough. Instead, Labor advocated for a royal commission, and we were not alone. Crossbenchers from across the political spectrum, from the Greens to the Australian Conservatives, stood with Labor as we called on the Liberal National federal government to launch a proper investigation into the allegations of water theft and corruption—but those calls fell on deaf ears.

After months of inaction by Mr Joyce and the commonwealth government, the former Labor government took the extraordinary step of convening a royal commission to look into these serious allegations. We did this because we must hold these people to account and we must have faith in the institutions trusted to deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and ensure that we have a sustainable river for future generations.

This week, to learn that the commonwealth government are now seeking to block the royal commission from having access to public officials to investigate theft and corruption almost beggars belief. What do the commonwealth government, the ministers or former ministers, have to hide by preventing the royal commission from doing their job? Why seek an injunction to the High Court of Australia, wasting time and taxpayers' money to prevent transparency in this investigation?

We on this side of the house want this investigation to proceed and to proceed unfettered. The royal commission needs to be able to properly examine the allegations of water theft and corruption. It needs to be able to examine where billions of dollars have gone and allegations about chief executives convening secret phone hook-ups offering confidential de-badged documents to third-parties to undermine the basin plan. The program has raised serious questions about where that money has gone, about National Party donors. We need the release of these documents, and we need to have commonwealth officials present at the royal commission to give evidence.

We are therefore introducing this bill to seek to make explicit in legislation that the powers of South Australia's royal commission apply outside South Australia to the full extent of the extraterritorial legislative power of this parliament. I note that the commissioner has stated that the effect of the Royal Commissions Act 1917 and the Service and Execution of Process Act 1992, the first being a South Australian act and the second a commonwealth act, permit the current royal commission to obtain evidence for the royal commission. This legislation seeks to make it abundantly clear for anyone who may seek to prevent the royal commission from properly investigating allegations of water theft and corruption that you cannot duck and you cannot hide from this royal commission.

The South Australian royal commission must have the power to compel witnesses to produce documents and to demonstrate that no-one is above the law. I commend the bill to the house and I hope to have the support of all members.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Pederick.