The Ministerial Code of Conduct and Barnaby’s Affair

Our federal politicians appear not to comprehend the crucial distinction between codes of conduct and laws proscribing behaviour.

A commentary on the issue of whether Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce is in breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct, which prohibits the employment by federal parliamentarians of family members and partners.

The ministerial code of conduct stipulates a minimum standard of behaviour expected of ministers, while criminal laws spell out elements of behaviour which need to be established in order for a minister to be found guilty.

Whether a person employed by a minister is a ‘partner’ in law as well as in fact, should have no bearing on whether a minister is in breach of the ministerial code of conduct. If, on the other hand, the question is whether a minister is in breach of a criminal law prohibiting such a hiring, lawyers will rightly argue over whether a lover is a partner while a spouse is still in the picture.This is because, we value the presumption that a person is not guilty until it is established otherwise, and because guilt depends on proof, beyond reasonable ground, of all elements of the offence.

The spirit of the law (contextual common sense) would see it as being clear cut that a code of conduct stipulating that a minister should not employ a family member or partner also intends to cover lovers, girlfriends, boyfriends etc as they fall within the rationale for such a prohibition, and because a code of conduct only spells out a minimum standard of conduct and expects much more. Joyce’s long standing affair and resulting pregnancy suggest a partnership making offers of employment inappropriate and in breach of the code of conduct. That he is also married is beside the point.

The ministerial code of conduct does not need to be refined to accommodate and deal with the Barnaby Joyce’s affair, as federal parliament should expect ministers to display the honesty, integrity and ethics to comprehend that it is inappropriate for a number of reasons to offer paid employment to family members and others with whom they are closely associated. This should be the case even without a code of conduct.

Why do we put up with our federal politicians’ cringeworthy and unbecoming behaviour in this matter and on the issue of dual citizenship ?