Former SAS officer, Warwick Stacey, called for the establishment of a federal independent commission against corruption (ICAC), to weed out the bad eggs.

“Over the past decade we have seen a dismal line of politicians and public officials paraded by state-based corruption watchdogs such as the NSW ICAC,” Mr Stacey said.

“This has included three ministers in the previous Labor government and eleven state Liberal MPs in the Baird Liberal government.”

Read more:  Warwick Stacey's profile and background

Mr Stacey said Tony Fitzgerald, the former head of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into public corruption in Queensland, developed a questionnaire to test MPs about their attitudes towards accountability, integrity, nepotism, deception and the spending of public money.

But the response from federal MPs was underwhelming, with just 53 of the 226 responding to the questionnaire and signing up to the so-called “Fitzgerald Principles”.

Mr Stacey said the fact that so few federal politicians agreed to commit to the principles is a demonstration of blatant contempt for the standards the law demands of business and society, as well as contempt for electors.

”With just 23 per cent of politicians signing up to the Fitzgerald Principles it is no wonder the public has lost faith and trust in federal politicians and institutions,” he said.

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