Federal Icac: independents want safeguards to ensure body cannot be politicised

Crossbenchers push Labor to ensure parliament has a say on commissioner and funding

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Independent MPs are pushing the government to ensure its new integrity commission cannot be politicised, with calls for parliament to have a say in who is appointed the commissioner and to determine the body's funding needs.

The independent MP Helen Haines has written to the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, asking for guarantees of independence, including an oversight committee with enough independent and crossbench representation that it can't be stacked" by government MPs.

The independent Zoe Daniel has meanwhile raised concerns about the potential for future governments to subject the integrity commission to budget cuts, saying there needed to be clarity about the commission's funding which should be removed from the political cycle.

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