A key element of this legislation is the establishment of the Standards in Public Office Commission as a permanent statutory body set up to monitor, investigate and regulate the conduct of those elected to serve the people or who are employed in the public service. This is to ensure the maintenance of proper ethical standards. The Act imposes on politicians and others an obligation to have one's tax affairs in order and to swear a statutory declaration that this is the case. An independent and powerful body, such as the Standards in Public Office Commission, with an ongoing mandate to supervise and maintain proper ethical standards is the best guarantee that what has happened in the past will not be permitted in the future.