Page 2601 - Week 08 - Thursday, 24 August 2006
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and Intergovernmental Relations. The review report of the Auditor-General of April 2005 concerning matters relevant to the Office of the Special Adviser, Council of Australian Governments and Intergovernmental Relations, was prepared subsequent to an examination of issues regarding the creation of the Office of the Special Adviser, Council of Australian Governments and Intergovernmental Relations, and the appointment of the special adviser.
Issues pertaining to the creation of the OSA were raised during hearings of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts as well as in the Legislative Assembly. The Auditor-General conducted a review of the issues raised under the authority of section 10 (a) of the Auditor-General Act 1996 to promote public accountability in the public administration of the territory. In examining the issues raised, the Auditor-General conducted a review, not a performance audit. Primarily, the review was limited to discussions with relevant departmental staff, the identification of relevant legislation policy and an examination of correspondence and documents. The committee received a briefing from the Auditor-General on the review report and invited a government submission in relation to the conclusions of the review report. The government declined the invitation to provide a submission.
The committee resolved to inquire further into the review report because it considered the issues raised were of significant public interest and suggestive of the potential to improve public administration more broadly. In its inquiry the committee considered and assessed the conclusions raised by the review report within the context of effective accountability and public sector governance principles. Its report focuses on a selection of the conclusions raised. This focus includes matters pertaining to the OSA’s administration, the economy of its outputs and its evaluation and performance.
The committee’s report makes eight recommendations: that the government develop clear policy and guidelines for secondment arrangements; that the government prioritise the finalisation of its response to the Commissioner for Public Administration’s Report of the review of the Public Sector Management Act 1994; that, to the extent that work is not already taking place, the government look at implementing recommendations 26 and 27 made in the Report of the review of the Public Sector Management Act 1994; that the Public Sector Management Act 1994 be revised to prescribe principles of procedural fairness for the early termination of a chief executive that balance the requirements of due process with a practical need for the early removal of a chief executive whose relationship with a minister has broken down, something I will speak a little more on in a moment; that decisions relating to secondment arrangements, particularly funding and accountability arrangements, are documented; that future secondment proposals should demonstrate the benefits of the proposed arrangements, particularly if the owning territory agency continues to meet the employee’s salary and other expenses; that the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Act 2004 and the Chief Minister’s annual report directions be revised to ensure that an annual report is provided for any agency that existed during a reporting year; and that the Legislative Assembly note the conclusions of the review report.
In examining this report, I would draw members’ attention particularly to elements contained on page 17. This report, whilst dealing with a particular instance on one occasion that was the principal motivator for the inquiry, required the public accounts committee to deal with broader issues relating to matters regarding the tenure of chief
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