New integrity commission push after MP code of conduct rejected by major parties

Senator Larissa Waters had introduced the bill to the Senate, which would have established a code of conduct for MPs and staff, a parliamentary integrity adviser and a Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. It would also introduce a statutory basis for the registers of interests for members and senators.

It was designed to give the Parliament a mechanism to deal with incidents like former senator Fraser Anning calling for a "final solution" in his maiden speech and when One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson wore a burqa as part of a stunt.

But the Senate committee recommended against the bill, saying it lacked clarity around how it would work with existing integrity regimes.

"The committee believes that the better approach would be to identify gaps (if any) in the existing regimes and implement measures to address these gaps," the report said.

The committee also pointed out that members of parliament were ultimately accountable to voters.

In additional comments, Labor senators renewed calls for a federal integrity commission, legislation for which is yet to be introduced by the government.

"The existing Ministerial Standards are weak, opaque, and enforced completely at the Prime Minister's discretion - it's not good enough. Those standards have not deterred the litany of questionable behaviour by ministers, both in and out of the chamber," Senator Waters said.

Ms Haines said the almost two-year wait for the government's legislation was too long.

"The government has now rejected both the Parliamentary Standards Bill and the Federal Integrity Commission Bill," she said.

"Yet this was an election promise. The government has repeatedly gone out of its way to avoid fulfilling a promise on integrity. The irony is breathtaking."