15th May 2014, 11:11 AM – Senate National Integrity Commission Bill 2013 - Second Reading - Put the question

The majority voted against a motion to put the question, which was introduced by Greens Senator Larissa Waters. The question was whether to read the bill for a second time.(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through to become law here. )

Because this motion was unsuccessful, the second reading debate will continue and the vote on whether to read the bill for a second time will take place at a later date.

Background to the bill

This bill was introduced as a private member's bill by Senator Christine Milne. It seeks to establish a National Integrity Commission as an independent statutory agency in order to:

• investigate and prevent misconduct and corruption in all Commonwealth departments, agencies, and federal parliamentarians and their staff;
• investigate and prevent corruption in the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission; and
• provide independent advice to ministers and parliamentarians on conduct, ethics and matters of proprietary.(Read more about the bill, including its explanatory memorandum, here.)