Page 840 - Week 03 - Thursday, 30 March 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
of Economic Development, Department of Treasury, Exhibition Park in Canberra, Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission, Rhodium Asset Solutions, Small Business Commissioner, Stadiums Authority and Totalcare Industries.
The provision of meaningful operational and financial information by government to parliament and the public is a fundamental component of the accountability process. Annual reports are the principal and most authoritative way in which chief executives and chairpersons account to the Legislative Assembly and other stakeholders, including the public, for the ways in which they have discharged their statutory and other responsibilities and utilised public funds over the preceding 12 months.
The committee held public hearings on 26 October, 8 and 30 November and 1 December 2005 and heard from ministers and accompanying departmental and agency officers and members of governing boards. The committee examined the annual reports in relation to their compliance, where applicable, with the Chief Minister’s annual reports directions, legislative and other requirements as raised in individual agency reports.
In reporting, the committee considered and assessed the issues raised in the annual reports within the context of accountability and governance and its subsequent effective reporting by public sector agencies. The committee’s report focuses on significant issues of interest raised during the inquiry process. The committee’s report in fact makes 10 recommendations. I will run through those if I may.
The committee recommended that the government require agencies to take up the Auditor-General’s suggestions to improve processes for the placement of annual reports on relevant websites within the required time frames. The committee also recommended that the government require agencies to take up the Auditor-General’s findings regarding improvement to processes for the preparation of financial statements and annual reports.
We are conscious of some of the difficulties facing smaller agencies. We heard various amounts of evidence of the difficulty in sometimes finding competent people to deal with the financial aspects of agencies. Nevertheless, we are keen to see things done appropriately and are pleased to support this recommendation from the Auditor-General.
The committee also requested that the government investigate implementing measures to improve the quality of reporting on ecologically sustainable development by developing an awareness of the global reporting initiative and monitoring its uptake as a consistent reporting framework. It has been acknowledged that there has been difficulty in this respect, as emerged from our evidence. Whilst I am sensitive to the demands on many agencies because of the level of reporting now required, it is clearly an expressed view of the Chief Minister, when he gave evidence, that this should happen. The committee wants to reinforce this requirement through this recommendation.
We also recommended that the Chief Minister initiate discussion with his state and territory colleagues to increase demand for hybrid and other fuel-efficient vehicles. This is a measure that the committee felt was worthy of support. Notwithstanding the view expressed yesterday in terms of the potential impact on the motor vehicle industry, because it does not operate in Canberra, my suggestion, of reducing the capacity of the speed of vehicles, was not a good idea because it came from the opposition. But this is a good idea, apparently, because it is supported by the government member of the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .