Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, I rise to speak in support of the committee's report entitled Report 424: Eighth biannual hearing with the Commissioner of Taxation. As the chair of the committee, the member for Lyne, has just stated, it is a responsibility of the committee to hold biannual hearings with the Commissioner of Taxation. These biannual hearings came about as a consequence of recommendations made as a result of an inquiry of the 41st Parliament. Having said that, this is the first time that the committee has actually issued a report in relation to those biannual hearings. As much as those biannual hearings are public hearings, and any of the public can listen to and attend these hearings, this committee believes that it is important that we deliver a report that outlines the evidence that was given at those hearings and, importantly, how we can ensure that there is continued transparency and accountability in relation to the Australian Taxation Office.

There are a number of recommendations arising from this report. Some of those recommendations go to the processes of the Taxation Office in relation to public account­ability and to having reporting systems that the public can view through public documents and websites. Some of those recommendations go to the information that is reported to the committee itself in the biannual hearings. We hope that we can get some improvements in the material that is brought before us and in accountability of especially the complaints processes and the action on complaints handling being taken by the Australian Taxation Office.

I also acknowledge the hard work of the committee secretariat and all of the committee members. The committee has a pretty hefty workload and, consequently, the secretariat has an extensive workload. We do appreciate the work that it does in all of the areas for which the committee has respons­ibility. I also echo the comments of the chair in relation to the committee's looking forward to working with the Australian Taxation Office to build and foster comm­unity confidence in the integrity of the Australian taxation system. It is very important that the public has confidence in this integrity. Our responsibility as a committee is to ensure that the parliament has the materials before it to ensure that integrity and to work cooperatively with the Australian Taxation Office, and also the Australian National Audit Office, to provide transparency and accountability and to build on that confidence in the integrity of the system.

This is a good report. I am pleased that the committee has taken the initiative to issue this report and that it will continue to issue reports on biannual hearings. We hope the Australian Taxation Office gives serious consideration to the recommendations made in this report. We look forward to the ATO coming before the committee in its next biannual hearing later this year.

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