The Age in top form on integrity failings

A terrific report by Katharine Murphy in The Age about the sidelining of the Auditor General from a role in policing money to be spent in taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns- a major integrity reform introduced by a government that had promised to be cleaner than its predecessor. Pulling the Auditor General off the job to now be undertaken by three former public servants stands in contrast to the Prime Minister's "absolute undertaking" in October 2007 "for the Auditor-General to certify whether individual advertisements contain legitimate public information or not."

The Age editorial on this and a related issue of transparency gaps in political donation laws also neatly nails a couple of Federal and Victorian government failings.