Wednesday, 2 August 2023

Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

Report on the Appointment of a Person to Conduct the Financial Audit of the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office

Emma KEALY (Lowan) (10:18): I would like to speak to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) Report on the Appointment of a Person to Conduct the Financial Audits of the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, a report of May 2023, which I believe was the subject of the previous member’s contribution on committee reports today. As he recommended, it is a report worthy of everybody’s consideration today and particularly around the great work that the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) does. It is so important that we have straight accounts and that the finances that are budgeted for the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office are acquitted appropriately, because the Auditor-General’s office does incredibly important work in ensuring the integrity and transparency of the actions and the work of all of our government bodies, of our public sector bodies, and how those finances are acquitted in their own right.

I have noted the work plan for the current year, the annual plan for VAGO, and I think there is an incredibly important amount of work to be done over the same period that this auditor has been appointed to ensure the financials all add up in the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office. In particular I am very much looking forward to seeing the Auditor-General’s report on protecting the biosecurity of agricultural plant species. There was a matter raised during PAEC this year which was around cutting of the rabbit monitoring program. This is a very important program for the monitoring of these pests across the state. It is around actually proactively understanding where rabbits are in our community and making sure that we have an early indication of where numbers are increasing, and of course that information is then used to target specific campaigns to eradicate or manage those pests. Now, unfortunately, this government has cut funding to the rabbit monitoring program in Victoria. This is not something that is acceptable. This is a program that has been going on for 32 years now, I believe. So I certainly am looking forward to seeing the audit reports on this, which is around plant diseases and pests in Victoria.

Danny Pearson: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I have listened to what the member is saying. This is about committee reports, and the report relates to the financial audit of VAGO. I am not quite sure how a performance audit in relation to pest monitoring is relevant to the –

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The point of order is?

Members interjecting.

Danny Pearson: If you interrupt, I’ll just take longer.

The SPEAKER: Order! Through the Chair, Assistant Treasurer.

Danny Pearson: I am not sure how a performance audit in relation to pest monitoring relates to the financial audit of VAGO.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The point of order is on relevance?

Danny Pearson: Relevance, Deputy Speaker. It is not relevant to the report.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, the member had strayed from the appointment for the financial audit. I would ask the member to come back to the committee report.

Emma KEALY: It is so important that the financial records and the expenditure are appropriately monitored and audited – and that is exactly the role of the individual who has been appointed by PAEC to ensure that this role is undertaken – because we need to ensure that VAGO, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, have the appropriate cash flow and their managers are expended appropriately to ensure they can do their fabulous work.

Some of the fabulous work that they are expecting this current year is also around reviewing employee health and wellbeing in Victorian public hospitals. Now, I note that in an inquiry earlier this week it was noted that the rate of bullying in IBAC was of great concern because it is up to 14 per cent. However, we know that in Grampians Health, for example, the rate of bullying is up to 23 per cent of staff. Now, the member for Narre Warren North had great concern about pursuing bullying rates of 14 per cent in IBAC, but why not the same concern around Grampians Health, which is at 23 per cent?

Danny Pearson: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member is defying your ruling. This has got nothing to do with the financial audit of VAGO.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Again, if the member could come back to the report that was prefaced in the start of her speech, that would be much appreciated.

Emma KEALY: In summary, VAGO have got a comprehensive amount of work that they have planned for this coming year, whether it is around making sure our health services are operating appropriately, making sure there is no bullying anywhere across the sector, or making sure that also they are doing the right thing for Victorians. I support their work.