Sunday 2 October 2022 06:54 AM National Anti-Corruption Commission: Watchdog scares politicians, influential ... trends now
The proposed National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is striking fear into the hearts of some of Australia's most powerful people before it has even become law.
Legislation for a corruption watchdog has just been introduced to parliament, but already there are rumblings of discontent from both right and left of Labor about it.
Speaking on Sunday, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said it will have the power to tap the phones of politicians, even on encrypted apps such as WhatsApp and Signal, and there will be nowhere to hide.
He said a 'decision made in (Scott Morrison's) office' when he was prime minister, 'looked pretty corrupt to me'.
'I think everyone needs to watch out,' Mr Dreyfus told ABC's Insiders program about the NACC, which has been called a federal version of NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus (pictured) said the National Anti-Corruption Commission will mean 'everyone needs to watch out'
'We don't want corrupt activity infecting our system of government. That's why we are creating, at long last, an anti-corruption commission for Australia.'
Shadow Cyber Security Minister James Paterson said he supports NACC, but 'would rather they don't hold any sensitive information like (encrypted messages) at all'.
On the other side, the Greens also want a federal watchdog, but fear Labor will water it down to ensure it gets the Coalition's backing for it in the Senate.
'It would be a disaster for integrity and a disaster for the new Labor government to do a dirty deal with (Opposition leader Peter) Dutton,' Greens Senator David Shoebridge told the New Daily.
'They were a stark lesson in what not to do, not a partner to work with.'
Mr Paterson said if NACC gathers encrypted data from the phones of politicians and other powerful people, 'that will put in its possession very sensitive and potentially classified information'.
'That will make it a very attractive intelligence collection target for foreign intelligence services,' he told Sky News.
Mr Dreyfus deflected the Coalition's concerns, saying any sensitive information gathered would be 'very carefully stored'.
'This is the distinction that you have to make for a national anti-corruption commission. It's potentially going to be dealing with national security information,' he said.
'That's not something,
