Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am particularly pleased to rise in the House today to support the Governance Review Implementation (Treasury Portfolio Agencies) Bill 2007. As honourable members would be aware, this bill will enable the transfer of several important statutory authorities from being under the guidance of one piece of legislation—that is, the CAC Act, the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997—to now come under the guidance of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1998. These changes were among those recommended in the Uhrig review of corporate governance of statutory bodies that was conducted by John Uhrig AC in 2003.

The task given to Mr Uhrig was to take a close look at the governance frameworks inherent in the operation of such bodies and then to make suggestions as to how these operations could be improved. Obviously, the foundational aim was to ensure these bodies were operating as efficiently as possible and in line with suitable accountability and transparency standards. Mr Uhrig was asked to develop fundamental governance guidelines that could be considered for application to many of Australia’s statutory bodies that work independently but as partners to government to ensure their particular sector of responsibility operates as effectively as possible for the overall benefit of the Commonwealth of Australia. Some 160 to 170 government bodies were assessed in line with the Uhrig review’s governance templates and among those organisations were those that are the subject of this bill. These include ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission; the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee; and APRA, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

The review suggested two types of management frameworks for statutory bodies: one that is based on executive management and the other that has its management by a board. It is obvious that different bodies may lend themselves better to one than the other and it is understood that efficiencies will increase when these bodies are matched up with the most suitable management framework. As a result of Mr Uhrig’s work, modified frameworks have already been implemented for bodies such as Medicare Australia, the Australian Research Council and the Australian Trade Commission, which have all had their governing boards abolished and moved over into an executive management system; and the National Health and Medical Research Council, which has become an independent statutory body under executive management.

The review had also identified those bodies that should have no change to their governance systems. These include AusAID, Australia Post, the Australian Public Service Commission, and the list goes on. There are also a significant number of statutory bodies—some 24—that have been or are in the process of being moved into a system whereby the minister has direct and regular contact with management. So this bill continues the implementation of Mr Uhrig’s recommendations with regard to ASIC, CAMAC and APRA.

The legislation to which these bodies have been subjected until now—the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997—acts to regulate the financial dealings of these organisations with specific requirements of record keeping, reporting and accountability. It also includes specific directives with regard to the conduct of senior staff and in relation to banking and investments. The act to which these bodies will be transferred, the FMA Act—that is, the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1998—is primarily dedicated to providing a framework for legally accepted methods for managing money and property that is held by the Commonwealth. It includes those items that are held in trust.

The Uhrig Review recommended that all those statutory bodies that were regarded as being required to be legally and financially a part of the Commonwealth but did not need to own assets should come under the FMA Act. ASIC, in particular, will receive some clarification under these changes. Currently, ASIC comes under the framework of the CAC Act but is actually regarded under the FMA Act in relation to the public moneys that it is at times required to hold. This situation will be improved by transferring it completely under the auspices of one act.

This bill continues the good work that has been underway as a result of the Uhrig review, which has assessed the management regimes of these bodies and suggested changes to improve their operations. The transfer of these three bodies to the FMA Act is designed to improve efficiencies, consistencies and transparency in governance arrangements.

It is almost two o’clock but, before I commend the bill to the House, I want to say that this government takes a very strong stand in favour of transparency, openness and good management of government bodies. The fact that a body is in the government sector does not mean that it ought to be relieved from the obligations that other bodies have. For this government to continue to hold the trust of the Australian people, which I trust we will, it is important to make sure that government bodies are appropriately administered. The reason the Uhrig review was brought about was to ensure that as a nation we have proper levels of accountability.

This is a very important bill, a vital bill. It highlights the government’s credentials as a responsible economic manager of the assets of the Australian people. I am pleased that this bill is currently before the chamber. It is part of the ongoing updating by the Howard government of corporate governance requirements. The Uhrig review has come down. We have accepted the recommendations of that review and, in a series of bills before the House, we are continuing to improve corporate governance to make sure that the Australian people can continue to have the sort of level of respect for corporate governance that this government has brought about over the last 11 years. I commend the bill to the House.

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