Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, introduced an amendment to strengthen the Government’s Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Amendment (Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission) Bill 2024.
“The Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) bill goes some way to addressing the problems that were raised in the Set the Standard Report,” Mr Wilkie said.
“But there is one glaring omission. That is where a matter involves a ‘serious offence’, the power to impose sanctions is taken away from the IPSC and given to the Privileges Committee. This flies in the face of the Set the Standard recommendation for a fair, independent, confidential and transparent complaints processing mechanism which will hold parliamentarians to account for poor behaviour.
“I moved an amendment to remedy the Government’s Bill. My amendment would enable the IPSC to include recommendations for any sanctions in its report to the Privileges Committee. Moreover, should the Privileges Committee choose to deviate from the recommendations of the IPSC, it must table its reasons for doing so when it reports its decision.”