Page 1771 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 5 May 2010
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MRS DUNNE: Yes, Mr Speaker. Minister, are you embarrassed that, after all this time, you have failed to deliver a key 2008 ALP election policy?
MS BURCH: The short answer is no. I met with a number of representatives from kin carers. We had a very positive discussion. They are looking forward to ongoing work with me around how this government supports foster carers and kin carers who are doing an absolutely fantastic job.
Mr Stanhope: I ask that all further questions be placed on the notice paper.
Paper
Mr Speaker presented the following paper:
Auditor-General Act, pursuant to subsection 31(3)—Performance audit—Report on the Independent Performance Audit of the Operations of the ACT Auditor-General and the ACT Audit Office, prepared by R J Sendt, Director, Bob Sendt and Associates, dated 3 May 2010.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella), by leave: Mr Speaker, I think this report is welcomed by the Assembly, and I am sure members will read it with interest. I am sure the Chief Minister will read it with interest. For the information of members, Ms Le Couteur, as the chair of the PAC, was sent an embargoed copy by Mr Sendt, and that was distributed to members for our interest. But now that embargo has been lifted by the tabling of the report, there are a few comments that are worth making.
It is important that we get the arrangements for the Auditor-General right, and it is important that we have an Auditor-General’s Office that is working effectively and efficiently and that is well resourced to scrutinise the government. That is the nature of the report that you have just tabled, Mr Speaker. We have only had it since early today so I have not had a chance to go through it comprehensively, but it is interesting, and I will just read some of the things that the independent performance auditor had to say.
If you go just to the first paragraph on page 1 of the executive summary, it says:
Based on my Review, I believe that the ACT Audit Office is providing an important service in an efficient and effective manner, and the Legislative Assembly and people of the Australian Capital Territory are achieving good value from the Office’s use of the taxpayer’s dollar. It achieves this notwithstanding the relatively small size of the Office, the complexity of its role and the demands upon it.
I think the Chief Minister has opened the report, and I hope he heard me quote what Mr Sendt said—what we have is a good office, an effective office; it is efficient and it is value for money. He goes on to say:
In my view the Office has enthusiastically embraced the challenge of the tougher new auditing and quality control standards of recent years.
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