Page 4726 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 7 December 1994
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In terms of health grants, the Auditor-General was not so complimentary. He noted, in connection with effectiveness, that he thought that the department was generally effective in the management of its grant programs; but he then qualified that by indicating that there needed to be a formal strategy put in place for the identification of community needs, and that there was a need for established criteria against which grant applications could be judged. He yet again noted that performance indicators should be established, and he went on with two or three other relevant comments. Despite those deficiencies, he did conclude that the department was generally effective in the management of its grants. However, in terms of efficiency, he did not even go that far. He simply stated in his opening remarks:
It was not practical to evaluate fully the efficiency of grant management across the Department ...
He then gave a number of reasons why that was so.
These matters were of considerable concern to the committee. We have made recommendations which we encourage the Assembly to support and which we would encourage the Government to adopt, because here we are talking about a significant amount of public money spread across a wide range of activity. That money must be properly managed, and we must be sure that we are getting value for the money spent. We do not believe that the matter should rest here. I exhort the Government to read our report carefully, to pick up the recommendations and to move to considerably improve things within the health organisation in terms of the administration of its grants system.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS - STANDING COMMITTEE
Review of Committee Activity during the Second Assembly
[~Bold MR KAINE (4.58): Madam Speaker, I present report No. 19, which is the final report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, entitled "Review of Committee Activity during the Second Assembly". I move:
That the report be noted.
Madam Speaker, this is, in effect, a summary of what the committee has done over the last three years and, in particular, it notes the things that the committee has been unable to conclude. Members will know that the Standing Committee on Public Accounts was established in the First Assembly and has persisted through six years of the life of this parliament.
Madam Speaker, I do not intend to read the whole report. I would rather seek leave of the Assembly to comment on a couple of matters and then to table it and to have the full report incorporated in Hansard. There are two things that I would like to deal with specifically, Madam Speaker. The first is the things that the committee has not completed. Two of those matters before the committee are matters arising from
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