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Independence

The draft Bill proposes setting up the Commission as a corporate body so as to demonstrate its independence from the government of the day. We support this. We recognise that there is no such thing as complete independence. However, we believe that the Bill should contain a simple clause acknowledging the independence of the Commission and requiring the Government not to interfere in its operations.

We are content with the proposals for the appointment of the First Commissioner and other Commissioners on single terms of up to five years. We would like to see an explicit statement that Commissioners are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

A key aspect of the Commission’s independence will be the provision of sufficient funding to enable it to meet its responsibilities effectively. For example, if the Commissioners’ powers were widened to allow us to initiate investigations then it would have to be recognised that significant additional resources would be required. We believe it would help to emphasise the Commission’s independence if the First Commissioner was required to report annually on the adequacy of its funding.