The voters who brought you Scott Morrison want stronger anti-corruption protections

Voters in Scott Morrison’s former electorate of Cook want a stronger anti-corruption watchdog and a ban on deceitful political ads, new polling has found. 

A voter survey commissioned by the Australia Institute ahead of Saturday’s by-election found 84.6% of respondents were in favour of truth in political advertising laws being put into place before the next federal election. Seven in 10 respondents also said the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) should be able to hold public hearings under any circumstances, rather than just in exceptional cases. 

The poll from the progressive think tank was conducted by uComms on March 28, surveying 914 Cook residents via automated voice and text messages. 

The polling also backed up internal Liberal advice saying the party’s candidate Simon Kennedy will win comfortably. He’s up 65% to 35% on two-party preferred votes, compared with his closest rival, the Greens’ Martin Moore.

A Liberal source previously told Crikey the party expected Kennedy to have an “easy run”, especially since Labor declined to nominate a candidate for the blue-ribbon seat which sits on a 12.4% Liberal margin.

Morrison, Australia’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022, pledged ahead of the 2019 election to legislate a federal integrity body, but gave up on the promise shortly before the 2022 election. 

Morrison said in April 2022 he would only put his proposal for an integrity body to a vote if Labor vowed to support it without amendments. After Labor won the federal election the following month, it proceeded to legislate the NACC, and the watchdog began operations in July 2023. 

However, Labor was criticised for adding a high bar for public hearings to the bill establishing the NACC. Under the government’s design, the commission can only go public with its hearings under hazily defined “exceptional circumstances”.

Truth in advertising legislation has long been a goal of teal independent MP Zali Steggall, and in recent months Labor has shown signs it’s interested in submitting its own bill to that effect.

Guardian Australia reported last month that Special Minister of State Don Farrell “is expected to introduce legislation by mid-year to introduce caps on electoral spending and donations, and new powers for an independent regulator to enforce truth in political advertising”.

Australia Institute director of democracy and accountability Bill Browne said Australia’s electoral system was “long due for reform”.

“Cook is Liberal Party heartland, but there is clear demand among Cook voters for integrity reforms like truth in political advertising laws and public hearings when in the public interest for the NACC that the Liberal Party has so far not supported,” Browne said in a statement.

“Neither major party can afford to be complacent given voters in safe seats are as supportive of integrity reforms as marginal ones are.”