Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Joyce: federal Icac unnecessary as Senate has anti-corruption powers Deputy PM says system working fine and agrees with Jim Mattis that China and Russia pose greater threat to US than Islamist terrorism Barnaby Joyce says Australia has no need for a federal anti-corruption watchdog. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the GuardianThe deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, has dismissed the idea of forming an independent anti-corruption watchdog to oversee federal politics, saying the Senate already performs the function well. Public servants report rise in corruption, prompting calls for federal watchdog Read moreJoyce said an anti-political corruption watchdog was unnecessary in Australia, and he didn’t want to get to the point “where people are scared for the government to govern”. “I don’t think there is a real sense in Australia of a concern with the political system,” he said on Sunday. “We don’t lack any capacity in our federal system to pursue issues that are a concern within the political frame.

Source: The Guardian January 28, 2018 02:26 UTC