Public hearings are essential to a national integrity commission's ability to uphold accountability, a former WA Labor premier says.
Geoff Gallop spoke at a national integrity forum in Canberra on Monday, where legal experts and politicians discussed the proposal of a national integrity commission.
The former premier said the public supported such a body, which must have the power to "go behind the scenes and find out what's really happening".
"I think a lot of politicians underestimate the extent of which people are interested in the system, the way it works, whether or not the accountabilities in place are adequate," he said.
"They (the bodies) must have public hearings, in many ways public hearings are of the essence of it."
Political corruption must be included in the scope of power, he added.
The forum comes amid a new survey which has found 80 per cent of Australians support a federal integrity commission with strong powers.
The survey of 1536 people also found 67 per cent have low to very low trust of federal parliament.
The cogs are turning on a national integrity commission, but the major parties are at odds over how it would function.
While Labor wants a federal body to resemble NSW ICAC, which can hold public hearings and self-start inquiries, the coalition has proposed a model which would prepare briefs of evidence for prosecutors.
But it would not hold public hearings for politicians and public servants accused of corruption, or be able to instigate its own investigations.
Dr Gallop says being able to uncover the truth behind decision making processes is vitally important, even more so than ensuring convictions for corrupt conduct.
"The imperative in all of this is to discover the what, how, and why of what happened," he said.
"Not only when it's public servants but also when politicians, including ministers, are involved."
Independent senator Tim Storer says a national integrity commission should be able to hold public hearings, investigate public officials and have retrospective abilities.
"That would provide more transparency and integrity to the process," he told AAP.
Despite having the support of 18 crossbenchers, Senator Storer's parliamentary transparency charter was voted down in the Senate earlier this month.
The charter includes real-time disclosure of political donations above $1000, enhanced whistleblower protections and an overhaul of rules for lobbyists.
"The general public will absolutely be looking for significant actions in the next parliament at the federal level," Senator Storer said.
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA'S ELECTION PRIORITIES:
* Establish a strong, properly resourced national integrity commission
* Low disclosure thresholds and real time disclosure of political donation
* Strengthen rules on lobbying and parliamentary conduct
* Protect whistleblowers
* Bolster international anti-corruption efforts
