House debates

Wednesday, 13 September 2017

Committees

Public Accounts and Audit Committee; Report

4:16 pm

Photo of Julian HillJulian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, I present the committee's report entitled Report 466: Annual report 2016-17.

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

by leave—The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit is one of parliament's oldest and most autonomous committees, with the committee empowered to initiate its own inquiries. In 2016-17 the committee sustained high-quality scrutiny of Commonwealth expenditure and public administration matters. Through 10 active inquiries, the committee examined matters contained in 18 Auditor-General reports, which is a 50 per cent increase in the number of reports reviewed compared to the previous year.

Themed inquiries are an important change, we think. We've been conducting more themed inquiries into core aspects of public administration as a feature of our activities. The themes picked up included Commonwealth procurement, Commonwealth infrastructure spending, Commonwealth grants administration and the Commonwealth performance framework. So we cluster a number of reports across agencies with similar themes and try and tease out common lessons. It's also a bit more interesting!

Submissions to the committee also increased significantly, with 111 received, compared to 56 the previous year. The committee continued its strong contribution to enhancing accountability and improving efficiency in public administration, making 17 clear recommendations to the government. Other activities throughout the year included inquiries into Defence sustainment and expenditure; the Defence major project report; considering the audit priorities of the parliament; commissioning an independent review of the Parliamentary Budget Office; and, as required by legislation, approving the appointment of the new Parliamentary Budget Officer.

In conclusion, I'd like to extend my thanks to all members of the committee for their commitment through 2016-17. As those who've served on the committee know, it's certainly not a light workload sitting on this committee. It is heavy in paperwork. As deputy chair, I look forward to maintaining the high standard of committee work over the coming year through our inquiry and oversight activities, ensuring as best we can the proper and efficient use of public resources. I commend the report to the House.