The Mandarin covered our President Pauline Wright's National Press Club of Australia address, commenting that restoring faith in politicians and government agencies will require a Federal ICAC with powers akin to a royal commission. 

It quoted from Ms Wright's speech:

"It undermines confidence in all levels of government and its agencies — they’re fundamental to the delivery of citizens’ expectations and aspirations, for Australia to be a fair, prosperous and ethical society,”

It also examined Pauline's view that the bar for an investigation to begin is too high, undermining the likelihood of evidence unveiling during the investigation process. 

“That’s what investigations are designed to do – to uncover evidence. You shouldn’t need the evidence to begin with, that’s what the investigation is for.” 

“While criminal conduct should, of course, be a priority for any anti-corruption body, it should be able to investigate other forms of misconduct – for example, links between financial contributions and political favours should be explored – even if an improper motive which is required to meet the criminal threshold can’t be established.” 

More Information: read the full article ‘A gaping hole in Australia’s integrity’: case for getting federal anti-corruption agency right

See more about the event including Pauline's full speech.