Labor gags Auditor-General on threat to independence

Brumby Government MPs have used their numbers on an all-party parliamentary committee to gag the Auditor-General on threats to his independence.

Labor has also tried to block the Auditor-General from telling the Parliament about his views on these threats by arrogantly claiming that for him to do so would be ‘questioning the merits of the policy objectives of government’.

“Labor was elected claiming to champion the Auditor-General’s independence; eleven years later, it is not only threatening that independence but even trying to stop the Auditor-General from telling Parliament about those threats,” Shadow Minister for Finance Robert Clark said today.

“Labor is so arrogant and out of touch that it thinks it can gag and undermine independent public bodies which question its policies,” Mr Clark said.

“Labor has trashed what was once a highly-regarded parliamentary committee and gagged an independent officer of the Parliament to cover up its power grab.”

The Public Finance and Accountability Bill 2009 gives the government wide powers to require all public bodies to implement government policies and to support the achievement of outcomes desired by government. It also requires all public bodies to comply with directions given by the Minister for Finance.

These provisions would give the government the power to force independent watchdogs such as the Auditor-General, Office of Police Integrity and the Ombudsman to bow to Labor’s political dictates and hand over sensitive information about matters they may be investigating.

The Legislative Council referred the Bill to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) on 27 July to consider and report on the Bill by 31 August.

But instead of examining the Bill, taking evidence from all relevant parties and assessing whether the Bill complies with PAEC’s own 2009 report New Directions In Accountability, Labor’s PAEC members held a rushed 13-day inquiry and refused to take evidence from the Auditor-General and other key parties. PAEC’s report was tabled in pParliament late last night.

The Bill gives the Minister for Finance power to declare any body or office established by legislation to be a public body to which the legislation applies, including the Auditor-General, the Ombudsman, the Office of Police Integrity, the courts and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Bill also applies to the Victorian Electoral Commission.

The Coalition has also raised other concerns about the Bill, including the sweeping powers it gives the government to transfer funds between departments, its failure to end the shameful dumping of annual reports in Parliament each year and its failure to end government manipulation of performance measures.