Australia's federal ICAC, a version with much sharper teeth than Scott Morrison ever imagined, looks all but certain to become a reality before Christmas.
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But could it have been even better still?
After three days of debate and additional amendments, the Labor government's National Anti-Corruption Commission bill has passed the lower house.
It has one final hurdle to clear before government MPs can start popping champagne bottles and declaring another election promise has been delivered.
The senate, where Labor needs either opposition or the Greens and an additional crossbencher to pass legislation, will become the watchdog's final battleground.
It will determine just how sharp the watchdog's teeth are.
Most of the proposed model is uncontroversial but opposing views on a select few issues mean someone's sure to lose.
Few MPs, regardless of their political persuasion, would dare question the need for an integrity body in a world where public confidence and trust in politicians has plummeted.
The Coalition is supportive of Labor's model but insists on tweaks allowing union officials to fall more squarely under the body's microscope.
It's a good bill, independent Member for Indi Helen Haines said on Thursday, but the amendments put forward by herself and her colleagues would make it better.
For most of the teal independents and Greens crossbenchers, the main focus remains on changing a clause making private hearings the default.
In its current form, those being probed by the anti-corruption commission will only face a public hearing in "exceptional circumstances" and when it's in the public's interest to do so.
Dr Haines and her colleagues think this will make public hearings scarce but Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus believes it strikes the right balance.
Labor's unwillingness to compromise on the high bar set for holding public hearings has angered crossbenchers who have otherwise praised Mr Dreyfus for being so consultative.
Coalition legal affairs spokesperson Julian Leeser suggested the public hearing rules were a red line for the party's broad support on the bill, leaving the government with a choice of two roads it could take.
Labor could side with its major party foes and pass the bill before the end of the year without changing the "exceptional circumstances" clause.
Or it could cosy up to crossbenchers, of which most were elected on strong pro-integrity platforms, and ignore the Coalition's concerns regarding the reputational damage public hearings could do.
In the senate, the extra crossbencher Labor would need to win over is David Pocock.
The fresh ACT senator has already been a thorn in their side on passing its sweeping industrial relations changes but is the most likely to play ball if the government budges on public hearings.
Then it would have to deal with the Greens, which also want the bar lowered and to broaden the definition of who can be investigated after a last-minute change by Labor.
But Thursday's deliberations have all but revealed Labor's choice. Instead of dealing with the loose coalition of left-leaning and centrist crossbenchers in the senate, it's choosing bipartisanship - the old way of politics.
The reality is it always seemed the more likely path but teal crossbenchers hoped this time might be different.
It's also a reality the Coalition likely would have calculated for - abandoning bipartisanship would force Labor into the hands of crossbenchers, likely resulting in the threshold for public hearings being lowered.
Ultimately, the choice helps to future-proof the body. By having the support of both major parties, the watchdog seems less likely to be dismantled following a future election result.
However, it comes at the risk of diluting its power and impact. And worse yet, reducing the public's confidence that it will do the job it sets out to do.
For the Albanese government, it will be an afterthought. Establishing a watchdog before the end of the year has now been ticked.
And now it's on to marking off the next promise.