Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, I present the committee's report entitled Report 459: Annual report 2015-16.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—The Joint Standing Committee of Public Accounts and Audit is one of the parliament's oldest and most significant committees, with a long history of enhancing accountability and improving efficiency in public administration. As we all know, government is an increasingly complex task. We also know that taxpayers have an expectation that their money will be expended prudently and transparently. As a result, as the annual report makes clear, 2015-16 was a period of noticeably increased activity for the committee, with a considerable increase in the number of reports tabled, recommendations made and submissions received by the committee in the course of the year. The increase in submissions received is particularly heartening, as it demonstrates increasing awareness of the value of prudent public administration.

I would like to extend thanks to the former chairs, Dr Andrew Southcott MP; the Hon. Ian Macfarlane, former MP; the former deputy chair, Mr Pat Conroy MP; and all members of the committee for their diligent efforts in maintaining its strong tradition of proper parliamentary scrutiny. With the work of this parliament now fully underway, the current committee has been quick to adopt four new thematic inquiries into core aspects of public administration, including Commonwealth procurement, the Commonwealth performance framework, Commonwealth risk management and public sector governance. In my capacity as deputy chair, I look forward to working with members of the committee in the 45th Parliament on these and other inquiries to maintain standards of excellence and meet the public's expectation of ensuring the proper and efficient use of public resources by the executive and across all Commonwealth agencies.

A final note, as a member of the committee, to all members of the House: this committee, I have been pleased to discover, has a strong history of bipartisanship. Indeed, in over 100 years there has only ever been a very small handful of dissenting reports from this committee, fulfilling its role as an important accountability mechanism for the entire parliament over public service. It is a place also to consider public sector reform. I and other members of the committee invite any members of parliament with an interest in public administration and public sector reform at any time to raise issues and ideas with us. I ask leave the House to present executive minutes on reports of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.

Leave granted.

I present the executive minutes on reports 451, 452, 453 and 454 of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.