A federal anti-corruption commission could restore Australia's plummeting faith in politics, Labor says.
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus will use a speech in Melbourne on Tuesday to say the prime minister is trashing democracy.
He will say Labor will work with "virtually the entire cross-bench" to establish a beefed up National Integrity Commission.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government was willing to trash democratic processes to dodge accountability, he says.
"We have seen a new contempt for parliamentary accountability mechanisms; a contempt that is deeply worrying for our national politics," Mr Dreyfus will say.
Mr Dreyfus points to a mid-2018 study that found only 31 per cent of Australians trusted the federal government, with younger people even more sceptical.
He will say the recent sports rorts affair surrounding Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie was an example of why people were disenchanted with politics.
Senator McKenzie is under investigation by the head of the prime minister's department after the auditor-general found she had used a $100 million sports grants program to fund projects in marginal seats.
Mr Dreyfus will say Mr Morrison once echoed former-army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison's words "the standard you walk past is the standard you accept", with Mr Morrison saying it was what Australian leadership was all about.
"It is also a phrase that nobody will ever apply to Mr Morrison," Mr Dreyfus will say.
Mr Dreyfus says the government is trying to market a political brand rather than address climate change.
He will also take shots at the changing news media environment, with some players pursuing a political agenda, while national security and freedom of information laws strangle attempts to hold the government to account.
The Senate passed a Greens-drafted version of a federal integrity commission in September but it would need the support of the lower house.
The government is working on laws to set up a Commonwealth Integrity Commission.
Australian Associated Press
