DREYFUS, KING & BUTLER – MEDIA RELEASE – NEW AIRPORT LAND DEAL SHOWS WE NEED A NATIONAL INTEGRITY COMMISSION NOW – FRIDAY, 7 MAY 2021

Further revelations around land deals in Western Sydney by the Coalition Government again highlights the need for a national anti-corruption commission.

The NSW Government has today referred its purchases of tens of millions of dollars in environmental offsets in Western Sydney to its Independent Commission Against Corruption after questions were raised about possible conflicts of interest.

The Morrison Government now needs to urgently explain what steps it is taking to review the millions of dollars it has reportedly spent on offsets from the same vendor.

This latest scandal come just months after it was revealed the Morrison Government blew $30 million on land for Western Sydney later valued  at just $3 million.

Scott Morrison refuses to explain how his government came to pay a developer 10 times what the land was worth.

A national anti-corruption commission would be able to uncover the truth about these deals and hold ministers accountable in the same way that NSW has been able to quickly refer questions about its land deal to its anti-corruption commission.

It has now been well over three years since the Morrison Government claims to have started work on its weak, ineffective and opaque “Commonwealth Integrity Commission”.

It’s been more than two years since Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Attorney-General Christian Porter promised to have draft legislation ready before the end of 2019.

Sports Rorts, Grassgate, Angus Taylor’s documents, the Airport land rort – the ever-growing list of scandals surrounding the Morrison Government shows why Australia needs a powerful and independent anti-corruption commission – and why Mr Morrison and his colleagues will do everything in their power to stop it.

Labor is committed to the establishment of a powerful, transparent and independent national anti-corruption commission. It’s long past time for Scott Morrison to stop stalling and start acting. 

FRIDAY, 7 MAY 2021