THE Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (JSCATSIA) will hold its opening public hearing today for the inquiry into improving the economic self-determination and opportunities for First Nations Australians.

Indigenous businesses are estimated to contribute more than $16 billion to the Australian economy, employ 116,795 people, and pay $4.2 billion in wages^.[1].

The committee is interested in hearing from Indigenous Business Australia and a range of government agencies such as IP Australia, the Treasury and the National Indigenous Australians Agency about the support and opportunities they offer to First Nations Australians for training, employment and business development, as well as matters relating to Intellectual Property, and building the economic and social infrastructure to support economic prosperity in the long term.

CommitteeChair, Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman Senator Jana Stewart, said, "Blak-owned businesses are creating long-term economic prosperity in their communities. It is critical that we examine the opportunities and barriers to ensuring First Nations knowledge can be protected, and Blak businesses can thrive."

Further information on the inquiry, including the program for the public hearing at Parliament House on Friday June 28, is available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Friday, 28 June 2024
Time: 9am – 4pm (AEST)
Venue: Committee Room 1R5, Parliament House         

The hearing will be broadcast live and will be accessible from the Parliament House website.

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THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) will be holding a second public hearing on Friday, June 28, for its inquiry into the 2022–23 Defence Major Projects Report (MPR).

“The MPR is an important accountability mechanism and the discipline of the MPR over many years has had a positive impact on Defence’s internal management of major projects,” Committee Chair Julian Hill MP said.

“More evidence is needed regarding how Defence assesses military off-the-shelf options during procurement processes. For decades, previous reviews of Defence procurement have insisted that a military off-the-shelf option must be considered and compared to ‘bespoke’ options in new capability procurement.

“The committee also wants to understand how changes to scope are decided after a project is underway as variations to scope can be a key reason for delays and cost escalations. How are capability and delivery managers engaged in the context of scope changes and who ultimately decides? It’s important that industry realities and cost and schedule impacts are fully considered when a decision is made to change the scope of a new capability after initial procurement.”

The details are as follows:

Date: Friday, June 28, 2024

Time: 3pm – 5pm (AEST)

Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House         

The hearing will be broadcast live and will be accessible from the Parliament House website.

Details on the inquiry—including the terms of reference and submissions received—are available on the Committee website.

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water will hold its first public hearing in Canberra tomorrow for its inquiry into the transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

Committee Chair, Tony Zappia MP, said, "The committee is looking forward to hearing evidence from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) alongside the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) to find out what work has been done to date and what the future needs might be to support Australia’s transition to electric vehicles.

"The committee will also hear from peak bodies and associations that will provide a customer and industry focus on what Australia’s future needs might be to support the country through the transition to electric vehicles. This is the first of a series of public hearings to be held across Australia," Mr Zappia said.

The program for Friday’s public hearing can be found here.

The committee will conduct further public hearings between July to September 2024. Further information about the inquiry, including the terms of reference, and submissions is available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: 28 June 2024
Time: 8.45am – 12.40pm
Location: Committee Room 2R2, Parliament House

Witnesses: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA), Australia Electric Vehicle Association, National Road Transport Association, Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association, Electric Vehicle Council.

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THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit has tabled its report into probity and ethics in the Australian public sector, finding the sector too often fails to comply with both the intent and the requirements of legal and regulatory frameworks.

“Complying with the letter of the law while ignoring the intent does not cut it,” Committee Chair, Julian Hill MP said.

“Too often the public sector is falling short of the high standards of professionalism required of it. Risk tolerance for non-compliance is unacceptably high and ‘getting things done’, even if it involves cutting corners, has sometimes become more important than complying with the law.

“In particular, it was concerning to hear during the inquiry that even when officials were found acting contrary to finance law, multiple witnesses and entities referred to a ‘lack of malintent’, to having ‘acted in good faith’, and ‘delivering on decisions of government’. This is plainly and unambiguously wrong.

“Officials in the Department of Health even received corporate ‘congestion busting’ awards for former Minister Greg Hunt’s hospital grants project which breached finance laws. Public money was paid without any apparent legislative authority and in blatant defiance of legal advice.

“Frankly, the committee wishes that breaking finance law was indeed innovative and a new situation, but unfortunately the evidence in this and numerous other inquiries make clear it’s not," Mr Hill said.

“The committee has observed over many years, including through this inquiry, a pattern of persistent resistance to accountability across the public sector. Agency heads do not consistently have frameworks in place to be reasonably confident their officers are acting according to the letter and the intent of the law, and thus demonstrating probity.”

To foster an Australian Public Sector that acts with probity and integrity, the committee concluded that a focus on three critical and interdependent aspects of the system is necessary: frameworks, culture, and accountability.

“The key, however, to ensuring the public sector acts with probity and integrity is overwhelmingly not the rules per se—it is ethical leadership: the ‘golden thread’ that binds and animates the system in a positive direction. Ethical leadership must be demonstrated at all levels, especially by accountable authorities and senior officers,” Mr Hill said.

The Committee made 11 recommendations, including recommendations that seek to embed assurances with regard to probity and ethics in public sector accountability systems and mechanisms.

Under the recommendations, the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) is to develop guidance with a definition of culture and metrics to build, measure and assess organisational culture as it applies to probity. Further, there should be a new requirement for all entities to develop and maintain an overarching Integrity Framework.

The report can be downloaded from the inquiry website.

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