Parliament and Accountability

1
Parliament and Accountability

• Presentation to Pacific Islands Presiding
  Officers and Clerks Forum, Samoa , April 28 2005
• By Peter Loney, Deputy Speaker,
• Parliament of Victoria

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Parliament and Accountability

• Accountability is now one of the most common
  topics in any discussion about government and its
  relationship with its citizens.
• Leaders of developed nations are telling us that
  good governance is what all countries must aim
  at, and in many cases are using their aid
  programs to promote this view .
• Nowhere is there a link between governance and
  parliament or more precisely, parliamentary
  oversight.
• In nearly all aid programs that have a capacity
  building emphasis, the emphasis is on building
  the skills in the bureaucracy.

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The Governance Gap

• When programs are designed the major democratic
  institution, the Parliament, is overlooked as the
  primary, and most effective long term weapon for
  scrutiny of government.
• This failure to address the capacity of members
  of legislatures to properly carry out their
  oversight role is the great governance gap.

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The basic premises of accountability.

• First, the Principles of accountability do not
  change according to the type of political system,
  and
• Second, commitment to accountability is two
  faceted - structural and attitudinal.

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What is Public Accountability?

• Traditional - public servants are directly
  accountable only to their responsible Minister
  who in turn is accountable to Parliament.
• More recent definitions hold that public servants
  are accountable not only through the Minister,
  but also to Parliamentary Committees, the
  Auditor- General, the Ombudsman, Administrative
  Tribunals and the courts.

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Managerialism and Accountability

• The rise of managerialism has affected
  accountability in a number of ways
• People are limited to seeking information about
  their own particular case rather than general
  settings or policies
• much of the information, which reveals the
  activities of government, is now of a commercial
  nature
• Public accountability is, and must be, a higher
  standard than that applied to corporations.

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Some new definitions

• Responsibility - is the obligation to act.
• Public Accountability - is the obligation to
  answer publicly for the discharge of
  responsibilities. Answering should be for
  intention as well as results.
• Holding to account - is the process of getting
  the answer in an agreed standard, at the time it
  is needed, and to agreed standards of fairness
  and completeness, and using it fairly.

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The Role of Public Accounts Committees.

• A Public Accounts, or similar, committee of the
  legislature is, and should be regarded as the
  pre-eminent Committee of the Parliament.
• First established in Westminster 1861
• Since they were established things have changed
• Party domination of Parliament
• "modern political parties are organisations
  designed to prevent parliamentary government from
  workingEvans H. 'Party Government The
  Australian Disease and Australian Cures
• The separation of Executive and Parliament has
  become blurred
• The rise of 'managerialism'

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Building Capacity

• Strong, democratic parliaments with members who
  understand their role and are properly resourced
  to perform it can hold governments accountable,
  weak institutions will not. Building the capacity
  of members of legislatures, and in particular
  those serving on scrutiny of government
  committees probably represents the single most
  effective long term approach to ensuring a regime
  whereby official corruption, or poor management,
  if they exist, are most likely to be uncovered.

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The Melbourne Resolution

• In February 2003 the 7th Biennial Conference of
  the Australasian Council of Public Accounts
  Committees (ACPAC) met in Melbourne to discuss
  emerging issues in public accountability.
• The Conference endorsed a resolution supporting
  the move toward an international body of Public
  Accounts or like Committees to be known as the
  International Conference of Public Accounts
  Committees (ICPAC).

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Role of ICPAC

• The resolution specifically provided four key
  roles for ICPAC
• The exchange of practice information across the
  regions
• Development of accountability standards and
  approaches
• Development and introduction of Best Practice
  approaches
• Development of training material for members of
  public account or like committees

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World Bank/CPA Report

• Identified the following as main priorities for
  action.
• Capacity Building.
• Information Exchange.
• Individual recommendations of the Study Group
  included
• There should be greater direct contact between
  Parliaments, especially PACs, and international
  financial institutions.
• Parliaments should regard the PAC as their
  pre-eminent committee.
• Specially structured training be provided to PAC
  members.
• PACs in smaller and developing Parliaments need
  improved access to information technology.
• Research should be undertaken into establishing a
  basis for making international comparisons of PAC
  performance.

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The La Trobe University Public Sector Governance
and Accountability Research Centre

• unique.
• came from an expressed need that had been
  determined from within, ie Public Accounts
  Committees, rather than as a training opportunity
  by an external source.
• its primary market is members of Public Accounts
  Committees, and the Committees themselves, rather
  than Public Sector managers.
• envisaged that there would be a heavy emphasis on
  the use of peer involvement to produce effective
  and relevant training.

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Aims of PSGARC

• Promoting research, teaching and practice that
  contributes to accountability, openness and
  transparency of government in Australia, New
  Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.
• Strengthening public accountability and
  governance by researching the role and function
  of Public Accounts and like committees and the
  activities of independent Auditors-General.
• Exploring issues of accountability and governance
  within the public sector generally.
• Promoting the training of postgraduates in
  research in the field of public sector
  accountability and governance.

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Aims of PSGARC contd

• Establishing links with academics, practitioners,
  politicians and institutions and enhance the
  networks which seek to promote public sector
  accountability.
• Providing research, development and academic
  support for parliament, parliamentary committees
  and parliamentary officers in issues of
  accountability and governance.
• Providing training for the parliamentary members
  and staff of Public Accounts and related
  committees.

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PSGARC Activities

• Funding - La Trobe University provides the basic
  academic staff costs of the centre and has
  provided funding to create a Research Fellowship.
  Private funding from KPMG and Tattersalls
• Research - a major study into the structure,
  practices and procedures of PACs in Australia and
  New Zealand. 140,000 project with KPMG
• a number of PhD students and staff researching
  various areas
• ICPAC working toward 2006 Conference and
  negotiating for secretariat funding.

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PSGARC Activities

• Networking - with a number of individuals and
  organisations.
• AusAID.
• Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
• Commonwealth Secretariat.
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
• World Bank.
• Auditors-Generals of Victoria and of New South
  Wales.
• Chairman of the Commonwealth Joint Committee of
  Public Accounts and Audit Committee.
• Chair of the Singapore PAC.
• Seminars Workshops and Conferences

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PSGARC Future Plans

• Form an international network of academics and
  others who are able to research in this area and
  to contribute to capacity building and
  development in their regions.
• Workshops and training seminars
• no one-size-fits-all when it comes to PACs
• only provide such a workshop at the invitation of
  the country concerned

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Conclusion

• The capacity of Public Accounts Committees to be
  instrumental in achieving high standards of
  ethical governance through holding governments to
  account has been overlooked for decades. We need
  to gain the support of civil society, aid
  institutions, international financial agencies,
  and others who have an interest in honest stable
  government, the eradication of corruption and
  strong democratic institutions to overcome the
  governance gap. If we do not constantly pay
  attention to improving the capacity of those in
  our parliaments to carry out their most important
  role, and continue to focus our efforts
  elsewhere, we will only ever make short term
  gains.