CANBERRA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a new federal anti-corruption commission on Thursday.
The announcement came after the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP), Greens party and independent Members of Parliament (MPs) put pressure on Morrison to establish the body.
Morrison had previously said the governing Liberal-National Party coalition was not opposed to a national anti-corruption watchdog, but said it was not a pressing matter.
Speaking on Thursday, Morrison said it was crucial that voters had confidence in the government.
"We have looked at all the alternatives and we believe that this is the best way to achieve this; the most sensible, measured, carefully considered way to address these issues," he told reporters.
"We're about having a robust, resourced, real system to protect the integrity of Commonwealth public administration."
The Commonwealth Integrity Commissioner will oversee investigations carried out by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner and Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner.
The law enforcement commission will have jurisdiction over the Australian Federal Police, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, and Australian Taxation Office.
It will also cover the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The public service commissioner will cover the rest of the public service, including MPs.
Christian Porter, the attorney-general for Australia, said that the watchdog would not hold public hearings.
"An investigative body necessarily investigates in a non-public way, which is very different from operating in secret," he said.
"It is an investigative body, with serious investigative tools, that is well-resourced, specialized and the peak body for building briefs against people who have acted corruptly and moving those briefs to the director of public prosecution."
