Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes the findings of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performance audit into the Administration of the $15 billion Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement (the Agreement); and

(b) That the ANAO found:

(i) expected net savings under the Agreement are not clearly documented,

(ii) there is no straightforward means for the Parliament and other stakeholders to know the expected or actual cost of key components of the Agreement,

(iii) there were persistent shortcomings in record keeping by the Department of Health (the department) in that:

  (A) it failed to keep a record of its meetings with the Pharmacy Guild,

  (B) it failed to take minutes of those meetings, and

  (C) it did not prepare agreed notes of what had been discussed,

(iv) the decision by the department not to prepare an official record of discussions over a $15 billion funding agreement is not consistent with sound practice,

(v) the department reallocated funds without prior ministerial approval, including to a $5.8 million communication strategy to be delivered by the Pharmacy Guild,

(vi) the department did not secure ministerial approval before reallocating funding of $7.3 million originally approved by ministers,

(vii) that department records indicate that in its preparations for the Agreement negotiations and implementation, the department did not:

  (A) develop a risk management plan,

  (B) develop a probity plan or consult with a probity advisor,

  (C) complete specific conflict of interest declarations for members of its negotiation team, or

  (D) develop a strategic implementation plan,

(viii) it would be of benefit for the department, in consultation with the Department of Finance, to clarify the basis on which it treated the Pharmacy Guild as the sole recipient of grants of Commonwealth financial assistance intended to be distributed by the Pharmacy Guild to pharmacy owners, and That the department was unable to provide evidence That the relevant funds were authorised by ministers as grants to the Pharmacy Guild, and

(ix) that including patient co-payments in cost estimates had the effect of significantly overstating the cost to government of the Agreement by approximately $2.2 billion.

Question agreed to.