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Patterson THE HOUSE of Representatives is to amend the Parliamentary (Integrity of Members) Act to empower the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption to embrace Members of Parliament.
A Bill to this effect has been tabled in the House by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
The new Bill confirms the undertaking given by the Government during the Joint Select Committee (JSC) deliberations on the Corruption Preven-tion Act, to amend the Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act in light of the provisions of the setting up of a Corruption Preven-tion Commission under the Corruption Prevention Act.
The Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act was passed in 1973, providing for the establishment of an Integrity Commis-sion, whose powers include receiving and examining statutory declarations submitted by Parliamentarians and conducting enquiries in relations to such declarations. If a Parliamentarian fails to submit a declaration, or if the Commission is dissatisfied with any aspect of a declaration or an enquiry conducted by it, the Commission is obliged to make a report to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. The maximum penalties for breaches range between $5,000 and $10,000.
The Corruption Prevention Bill provides for the establishment of a Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, vested with powers similar to those of the Integrity Commission and an additional power to receive and investigate complaints regarding acts of corruption by public servants.
Parliamentarians have been included in the definition of public servants in the Bill.
During the deliberations of the Joint Select Committee, which examined the Corruption Pre-vention Bill, the Government gave an undertaking that the Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act would be amended in the light of the provisions of the Corruption Prevention Bill.
The Bill will empower the Corruption Prevention Commis-sion to: receive and investigate complaints against Parliamen-tarians regarding acts of corruption; report acts of corruption to Parliamentary Leaders and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP); submit a report of a failure to submit declarations and the Commission's dissatisfaction with any aspect of a declaration or any enquiry conducted by it to the DPP or the Commissioner of Police; empower a Parliamentary Leader to refer the report received from the Integrity Commission to the Ethics Committee of the House; and increase penalties for breaches of the Act to the same levels of the Corruption Prevention Bill.
