UN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION

Signing Ceremony 9-12 December 2003

Mérida, Mexico

STATEMENT BY HE MR GRAEME WILSON

Australian Ambassador to Mexico

 

 

I am pleased to represent the Australian Government at this important event and in this beautiful part of Mexico. I join other representatives in thanking the Government of Mexico for hosting this signing ceremony, and for remembering the fine work of Colombian Ambassador Hector Charry Samper, the late Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee which developed the Convention we are signing today.

 

Mr/Madam President,

 

Australia is committed to combating corruption at home, in our region, and around the world. Addressing corruption is a key component of the international community's promotion of good governance and its fight against domestic and transnational crime. People living with corrupt government are deprived of the benefits of economic development.

 

Australia participated actively in all seven negotiation sessions and worked hard to ensure that the Convention was an effective and wide ranging instrument which would make a real impact upon corruption. The Australian Government is pleased with the Convention that was agreed after so much hard work by so many delegations. Australia is signing the Convention at the first available opportunity today to demonstrate its commitment to this important new international agreement and the global fight against corruption.

 

Mr. /Madam President

 

Australia is an active participant in several international frameworks to combat corruption. Australia is a party to the OECD Convention Against the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials. Australian Government experts will participate in a Phase II review in 2004 and Australia will receive a Phase II review team in 2005. Australia has recently endorsed the ADB­OECD Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Asia Pacific, and participated only last week in the fourth Steering Group Meeting for the Action Plan, held in Malaysia on 1-2 December 2003.

 

I am also pleased to announce that Australia proposes to ratify the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and its Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish the Trafficking of Persons, especially Women and Children. These instruments were tabled by the Minister for Foreign Affairs before the Australian Parliament on 3 December 2003 as part of Australia's treaty making process. Subject to the views of the Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, Australia will go ahead and ratify these three important instruments - so well known to those who have worked on the Convention we are signing today. The Australian Government expects that these ratifications will take place in the first half of 2004.

 

Mr./Madam President

 

In 2003-2004, Australia will spend approximately a $1.9 billion on overseas aid. Of this, approximately one fifth will be allocated to promoting improved governance. Anti-corruption is a key priority in this area. Australia is working hard with several of its Pacific neighbors to assist those countries to recover from the scourge of corruption.

 

Mr. /Madam President

 

Australia has a comprehensive approach to tackling corruption within its borders. In recent years, Australia has undertaken a series of reforms to the Commonwealth Public Service that ensure it is an effective and transparent service. The Public Service Act 1999 and the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 are particularly notable.

The Public Service Act contains the Australian Public Service Values and the Code of Conduct. All Australian Public Service employees are required to uphold the Values and are bound by the Code of Conduct. Sanctions may be imposed for breaches of the Code of Conduct, and the Act also provides for the protection of whistleblowers.

 

The Financial Management and Accountability Act sets out requirements for agencies to observe in their management and accountability of government funds.

 

Oversight of the public service at the Commonwealth level is provided by a range of agencies and processes including the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Auditor-General, the judicial review process, and the Australian Federal Police.

 

All Australian jurisdictions have criminalized bribery and have implemented anti-money laundering legislation. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, which is responsible for all prosecutions at the Commonwealth level, is independent, appropriately resourced, and staffed by trained and experienced prosecutors. At the state and territory level, three states have separate, independent anti-corruption bodies.

 

A number of inter-agency cooperation agreements have been developed at the national, regional and global levels that further increase the effectiveness of investigations and prosecutions.

 

Australia also has extradition and mutual assistance arrangements in place with a wide range of countries. These arrangements can be utilized for corruption offences in most cases. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission monitor and enforce compliance with Australia's laws on anti-competitive and unfair market practices. These aim to enhance the welfare of Australians through the promotion of competition and fair trading, and provision for consumer protection.

 

Australia's Proceeds of Crime Act includes a money laundering offence, and all states and territories have criminalized money laundering.

 

Mr. /Madam President

 

Australia has detailed transparency and reporting requirements for the budget, taxation, and government expenditure. Australia has implemented a freedom of information scheme that ensures the highest level of public access to government decision-making processes. This is supplemented by extensive government information available on the internet.

 

Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, participate in a range of government activities in Australia. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Agency for International Development hold regular consultations with NGOs on human rights and on aid, hosted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Attorney-General hosts a similar annual forum. NGOs are also actively involved in parliamentary inquiries and committees.

 

Mr. /Madam President

 

The adoption of the Convention in Vienna on 31 October was an important achievement in that it produced the first global approach to the fight against corruption, a crime which undermines good governance. Australia's signature today of the UN Convention Against Corruption is another example of Australia's on-going commitment to the fight against corruption, at home and around the world.

 

I am pleased to represent the Australian Government today and look forward to reporting to Canberra on the very successful hosting of this important ceremony by the Government of Mexico.

 

I am sure you will agree with Australia's view that this Convention sets a solid framework for on-going international co-operation in the fight against corruption, and that this is a very important task for all of us in the years ahead.

Thank you.