Tasmania's New Integrity Group: Push for Transparent Government

0:00In Sydney, it's March 20th, and here's what is going on. This week in Tasmania, a new parliamentary friends group focused on public integrity launched, bringing together politicians from across the spectrum, to push for more transparent government. Co-founded by Independence, Meg Web and Christy Johnston, it aims to boost trust in democracy through evidence-based reforms. Meanwhile, the state parliament passed three motions to strengthen oversight and accountability. Building watchdogs like the Integrity Commission on Budsmen and Auditor, general-faced criticism for limited powers and a resistant public service, culture. A prime example is, TTLINE, the government-owned ferry operator, which botched planning for new ships and a bigger berth, causing huge cost overruns. Last August, the Auditor General called it insolvent, despite a $400 million borrowing boost, but officials dismissed the report. Governors are losing faith in major parties due to these secrecy issues, including no

1:01public laws of right to information requests for entities like, TTLINE, Marina's Link, and Task Racing. The Integrity Commission, now 16 years old, has never held a public hearing, even after a six-year probe into public service misconduct. Parliament is responding with action. The government agreed to make right to information results public for those entities, but rejected automatic. Cabinet document releases after 10 years. Another motion for an inquiry into last year's election caretaker breaches, like policy promotions during the campaign, didn't pass. These steps signal growing momentum for ethical governance in Tasmania, potentially rebuilding public confidence, one reform at a time.