Barry O’Farrell MP
Mike Baird MP
NSW Premier
NSW Treasurer
Minister for Western Sydney
State Member for Manly
MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday 22 February 2012
GOVERNMENT WELCOMES COMMISSION OF AUDIT REPORT
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and Treasurer Mike Baird today welcomed the release
of the NSW Commission of Audit Interim Report (Schott Report) as a roadmap for
reform to deliver a more productive, efficient and responsive NSW public sector.
“The Commission has confirmed there were systemic problems across the entire New
South Wales public sector when this Government took office,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“The Report finds there are many areas of NSW public administration that were
functioning well, but overall, its performance was far from excellent.”
The Commission, led by Dr Kerry Schott and supported by an Advisory Board chaired
by Mr David Gonski AC, found that only a low level of importance has been given to
financial, people and asset management. If not addressed, the report argues this will
hinder the Government’s long-term strategic plans for NSW.
Mr Baird said the Commission also confirmed the financial position inherited by the
new Government was unsustainable and recognised that a well-managed and efficient
public sector is vital to the future success of the NSW economy.
“The Report details an erosion of accountability, a lack of fiscal discipline and a
complete breakdown in the budget process. Ministers were not even held accountable
if they failed to meet their budget allocations or exceeded them,” Mr Baird said.
“NSW has been punching below its weight for too long. There’s no doubt that a lack of
performance and efficiency in the public sector has contributed to the deterioration in
the Budget and has affected our competiveness as a State.”
The Commission has provided key recommendations in the areas of structure and
accountability, financial management, people management and asset
management. These include:
-
Leadership responsibility should be transparently set out for each cluster, to
clarify the roles of Coordinating and Portfolio Ministers as well as those of
Directors General and Chief Executives;
-
Treasury, in consultation with agency CFOs, should commence scoping the
design of a new financial management information system as a matter of
urgency;
-
A major cultural shift is needed so that supervisors at all levels recognise that
managing people is a key accountability; and
-
An asset management policy statement should be released to clarify
responsibilities and linkages between the various planning and procurement
frameworks.
“This Report lays the groundwork for a more productive, efficient and responsive
public service so it can deliver for the people of NSW,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“This Government has already acted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the
public sector and we will be pursuing the recommendations to move the NSW public
administration forward from its current position to a level that the people of NSW both
expect and deserve.”
“There will be no quick fix. This will take time, patience and persistence,” Mr Baird
said.
“These reforms will not be easy, but they will have benefits – benefits for the public
service, benefits for NSW economy and most importantly benefits for the people of
this State.”
The Report draws on the Financial Audit (the Lambert Report) prepared by Michael
Lambert last year and also released today. The Review outlined eight elements of a
reform package for NSW which have shaped the Government’s reforms to date.
The Lambert Report was considered in the course of developing the September 2011
State Budget, as part of the State Plan (NSW2021) and in the preparation of the
Expenditure and Management Audit (Schott Report). To the extent that the Lambert
Report recommendations were not adopted in the Budget or reflected in NSW 2021 or
the Schott report, the Government will not be adopting them.
The Commission of Audit Interim Report and the Lambert Report can be accessed at
www.nsw.gov.au
A further report by the Commission is expected to be released in April, which will
examine aspects of Government services delivery.
Media: Brad Burden or Cameron Hamilton (Premier) 9228 5239 or
Rachael Storey (Treasurer) 0467 741 310