The Victorian government has introduced legislation expanding the jurisdiction of its anti-corruption commission, the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC). This comes on the heels of the creation of a new Royal Commission that will investigate allegations of vast corruption in the construction sector.

The IBAC reforms are not perfect. They overly limit the ability of IBAC to investigate past conduct and do not expand IBAC’s power to hold hearings in public. Despite these issues, they are vital for fixing Victoria’s governance crisis.

Perfect must not be the enemy of good, and they must be passed.

Taken alongside the royal commission, they allow Victoria to begin to tackle one of the root problems in its failing governance culture: the blatant disregard for long-standing, Westminster conventions by premiers, ministers, and public servants.

These conventions are more than just relics of a bygone time. They are responsibilities of public office that underpin our democratic system by ensuring the people can hold their officials to account. They also help to safeguard good governance.

Victoria’s governance crisis

Few would argue Victoria is facing an integrity and governance crisis. This crisis stems from a culture of top-down governance in which leading public officials disregard key Westminster conventions on the basis of “"getting shit done”.

New Premier Ben Carroll has vowed to put an end to this, describing integrity as “non-negotiable”.

He........

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