Page 1662 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 3 May 2011
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I also remind members that the committee is still trialling the consideration of amendments to bills for the remainder of this Assembly, and so I encourage members to provide proposed amendments to the committee. As I stated in the Assembly last July, amendments should be new, that is, not arising out of any previous scrutiny report and should fall within the purview of the committee’s terms of reference. To enable consideration of amendments, they should be submitted at least 14 calendar days prior to the day proposed for further consideration of the bill.
The report was circulated to members when the Assembly was not sitting. I commend the report to the Assembly.
Public Accounts—Standing Committee
Statement by chair
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo): Pursuant to standing order 246A, I wish to make a statement on behalf of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in relation to the committee’s consideration of the audit office’s 2011-12 budget submission.
Pursuant to section 22 of the Auditor-General Act 1996, the committee is provided with a role in determining the annual appropriation available to the Auditor-General. The committee considers the draft budget estimates of the Auditor-General and makes a recommendation to the Treasurer regarding the proposed appropriation and provides the Treasurer with the Auditor-General’s draft budget.
This provision creates a process whereby the Legislative Assembly, through the committee, advises the Treasurer regarding the resources that should be made available for the operations of the audit office for the respective financial year. The committee resolved that this year it would also inform the Assembly of the outcome of its consideration of the audit office’s 2011-12 budget submission.
The committee notes that, in its report inquiring into the ACT Auditor-General Act, it recommended that the committee, as part of its consideration of the audit office’s draft budget estimates, be formally required to make a report to the Legislative Assembly, as part of the budget process, on the level of funding required by the Auditor-General.
To the degree that the Auditor-General’s proposed budget for 2011-12 is sufficient to maintain the current level of service and permit their discharge of the statutory responsibilities required for the office, the committee fully supported and endorsed the proposed budget for 2011-12. However, the committee also recommended that a funding model supporting growth in the performance audit program be initiated as part of the 2011-12 budget.
The committee notes that financial audits are a statutory requirement and that it supports the current level of financial audits. The following comments are made with reference to the performance audit function.
In the case of the performance audit program, the proposed budget for 2011-12 is targeted to deliver six performance audits. The committee notes the findings of the
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