23-June-2010
Portfolio Media Releases, The Economy, Funding
A Coalition Government will introduce two significant reforms to ensure taxpayers get better value from their tax dollars, including the establishment of a new Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
The PBO will be independent and will enhance the transparency and accountability of the budget process and help deliver better policy and financial outcomes for Australian taxpayers.
The PBO will be well resourced and provide objective and impartial advice and analysis across the parliament on the Commonwealth budget and budget cycle, including the impact of major policy announcements. The PBO will also work to increase the transparency of the budget process.
The PBO will be headed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who will be appointed by the presiding officers of the parliament on the advice of a committee of senior government officials. The Office will have a small, but highly trained staff, whose calibre will reflect the Office’s status as an independent body.
Importantly, the new Budget body will be accountable to the Parliament rather than the Executive, much like the Auditor-General or Commonwealth Ombudsman.
The Coalition will also strengthen the requirement that ‘value for money’ be considered in the use of Commonwealth resources. We will add ‘value for money’ to the definition of ‘proper use’ of Commonwealth resources in the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
This addition will give governments a greater legal obligation to seek value for money when spending public funds. The Coalition would also add achieving ‘value for money’ to the criteria against which senior officials’ performance is judged.
Greater scrutiny and transparency of Commonwealth Budgets will deliver better fiscal outcomes, enhance the quality of government spending and will be an impediment to future Labor governments to engage in further reckless and wasteful spending.
Governments will not always like additional scrutiny and accountability, but establishment of the PBO will contribute greatly to a better-informed debate about fiscal policy and the consequences of government decision making, and will therefore help to deliver better outcomes.
The Coalition will introduce legislation into the Parliament this week to give effect to these announcements.
Media Contacts: Cameron Hill (Office of Andrew Robb) 0408 239 521 Philip Clayton (Office of Guy Barnett) 0414 317 441