Now on to the House

In 2004, public officials will have to declare their assets for the first time since they last filed in 2000 for 1999.

The Senate on Wednesday night approved the Prescribed Forms and Regulations to effect the Integrity in Public Life Act 2000, minutes after approving the Joint Select Committee (JSC) report on these integrity subsidiary laws. A motion to adopt this report is also listed on the supplemental order paper for today’s sitting of the House of Representatives. The Government had been criticised for its repeated delays in bringing to Parliament this subsidiary legislation of the Integrity Commission which has not been able to require officials to file declarations since the Integrity Act 2000 replaced the 1987 Integrity Act. The JSC Report also urged that the Integrity Act be amended to let the Integrity Commission require officials to retroactively file declarations of assets held in the years 2000, 2001, and 2002.

While the Government is considered likely to support the Forms/Regulations in the Lower House, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said at yesterday’s post -Cabinet media conference he wants to amend the Integrity Act to narrow the class of persons who must declare assets and income. On Wednesday, Opposition Senator Wade Mark had unsuccessfully proposed that retroactivity be listed as one of the report’s “recommendations,” upgraded from being listed under “deliberations.” The deliberation which Mark wanted to list as a recommendation was the second sentence of paragraph 19 which said: “There were differing views with the chairman and members of the Integrity Commission firm in their interpretations that declarations would have to be made retroactively to 1999. Your committee therefore strongly recommends that the Parent Act be amended to give effect to the intention of Parliament as was manifested in the legislation passed in 2000.” The Senate rejected this, with Attorney General, John Jeremie, saying that the Senate as one House of Parliament could not change a report of a committee of both Houses. Moreso Jeremie added, retroactivity had not been part of the terms of reference of the JSC and “the fact the committee commented on the parent act was outside the remit of the JSC but we did so out of an abundance of caution.”

The report’s final recommendation, which the Senate duly voted for unanimously, was: “Your committee wishes to report to Parliament that it has completed its deliberations and recommends that the Integrity in Public Life (Furnishing of Information) Regulations 2003 and the Integrity in Public Life (Prescribed Forms) Regulations 2003 be approved by Parliament. The commission is requested however to note the detailed concerns ventilated with them as a matter of urgency.” Saying Jeremie “seeems to have good intentions,” Mark urged: “The Attorney General should return to this Parliament in the shortest time to bring an amendment to this House, so that those outside the House who want to play games with this legislation won’t be able to.” In contrast to the Forms/Regulations controversy having dragged on for three years, the documents were approved by the Senate in a blink of the eye, vice president of the Senate, Rawle Titus, requiring just about a minute to move the motion, put the question, and declare “the ayes have it.”