Much of the interest in ethics in Australia has been precipitated by allegations of corruption in political life and perceptions of chicanery in business. Many of the six Australian state governments have endured recent publicity concerning unethical and even illegal conduct by public servants, politicians or police. (In Australian states, policing is a state government responsibility.) In both Western Australia and Victoria, the allegations of government impropriety have involved relationships with private enterprise.

The government of Western Australia was dubbed by the media for some time as "Western Australia, Inc" to indicate the close ties of the government of the day with a few Perth entrepreneurs. When some of the favored companies began to slide into bankruptcy, the political pressure mounted and the state premier was forced to resign. A number of law suits are now being heard.

The government of Victoria has always been held up to a spotlight. The state government invested large sums of pension funds into a state development bank. It is asserted that the bank in turn liberally lent money to the political supporters of the government in a series of unsuccessful enterprises.

Most significant of all has been the saga of political corruption in Queensland (referred to in Australia as "the deep North:') In 1988, the Fitzgerald Commission brought down a number of findings concerning corruption in Queensland. The government of the day lost office, and a number of prosecutions are now underway. At least four former state government cabinet ministers have been charged with misconduct. The Criminal Justice Commission was established to implement the reforms designated by the Fitzgerald Commission.

The Commission is considering how to promote ethics in public servants and police officers. This is no easy task: Commissioner Fitzgerald described the situation as one where the service was "debilitated by misconduct, inefficiency, incompetence, and deficient leadership:' The Fitzgerald Commission was the focus of a major conference sponsored by the University of South Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology in 1989. The proceedings will be published shortly by the University of Queensland Press.

In New South Wales, the incoming state government established an Independent Commission Against Corruption. It has launched a number of very public inquiries, including some which have been aimed at ministers in the present government. Its independence is thus proven. There is no doubt that corruption has been endemic to New South Wales. In the previous government, one state cabinet minister was convicted of selling early releases from prison to convicted criminals.

On the professional front there is also dissatisfaction. Fraudulent claims on the national health care system have been a continuing problem. In other well publicized cases, accountants have failed to see to it that qualifications on audits were noted by the directors of public companies, with the eventual result that stockholders incurred losses.

Many other cases could be noted, but enough has been said to make the point that Australia suffers much questionable conduct and that the media and the increasingly educated public is disturbed by it. The norm is no longer to accept as ethical anything that is legal. For a marginal economy like Australia, public confidence is of the utmost importance. To accumulate sufficient capital to develop, Australia must win the confidence of domestic investors and foreigners. As it stands, only about 10% of Australians have money invested in Australian business, a figure that is less than half the American. The National Companies and Securities Commission has repeatedly asserted that Australian business needs to be, and to be seen to be, impeccable. However, in general, the attitude all too often is that if it is not illegal, then it is ethical.

Educators have taken a number of initiatives. Ethics has been introduced into the curriculum in the MBAs at Curtin University (Perth), Macquairie University (Sidney), and the University of Sidney. Michael Small described one such course in an article in The Practicing Manager (10:1). Moreover, a Centre for Applied Ethics will be opened in 1990 at the University of Western Australia. Other initiatives include the Australian Institute of Ethics and the Professions at the University of Queensland, the St. Paul's Centre in Adelaide, and the St. James Centre for Business Ethics in Sydney. The Royal Australian Institute of Public Administration is also promoting an interest in ethics. Its Bicentennial Sir George Murray Prize was awarded to a study of public service ethics.

The Australian Police Staff College has also taken the lead. It is developing a training program in ethics for senior members of Australian police services.

Recently the Ethics Almanac has also appeared. It has a mailing list of more than 300 people in Australia who have demonstrated some interest in ethics in the professions.