Page 873 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 2 May 2007

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decisions involve expenditure of public money or otherwise. For that reason this government has a strong record of community consultation and involvement.

Good government is about fostering a cultural respect for values and principles of good government and incorporating those values and principles into everyday business of the public service. The Public Sector Management Act 1994 sets out the expectation that the government and the community have about the professionalism and probity of the ACT public service and the important values and principles that guide public administration. Those values and principles bear repeating. At section 6, under the heading “Values and principles” it states:

Government agencies shall have an objective of implementing the following values and principles:

(a) service to the public;

(b) responsiveness to—

(i) the requirements of the government; and

(ii) the needs of the public;

(c) accountability to the government for the ways in which functions are performed;

(d) fairness and integrity;

(e) efficiency and effectiveness.

Under section 7 “General principles of public administration” it says:

The public sector shall be administered with an objective of giving effect to the following principles:

(a) the public sector shall be administered to provide quality services to the public;

(b) decisions shall be as fair as possible;

(c) the best management practices shall be used;

(d) the public sector shall be structured and organised to facilitate the timely and effective performance of its functions;

(e) there shall be a clear and explicit delineation of the responsibilities and accountabilities of public employees, administrative units and territory instrumentalities;

(f) the public sector shall be managed in accordance with principles of access and equity by giving all members of the public the opportunity to have a fair share of the resources which the Territory manages on their behalf and an opportunity to gain access to the resources to which they are entitled;

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