PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE Annual Report 1993-94 Report No. 85 October 1994 This report was compiled using WordPerfect for Windows 5. 2, and printed by Parliamentary Printing Services. Copies of this report have been distributed to all legal deposit libraries in Australia. New South Wales Parliamentary Library cataloguing-in-publication data: New South Wales. Parliament. Public Accounts Committee Annual report, 1993-1994 I Public Accounts Committee, Parliament of New South Wales. --[Sydney, N.S.W.] : Public Accounts Committee, 1994. -- 125 p. : 30 em. (Report I Public Accounts Committee, Parliament of New South Wales ; no.85) ISBN 0731021649 1. New South Wales. Parliament. Public Accounts Committee 2. Expenditures, Public--New South Wales (LCSH) [2. PUBLIC-EXPENDITURE-NEW-SOUTH-WALES (Parliamentary thesaurus)] I. Title ll. Series: New South Wales. Parliament. Public Accounts Committee. Report ; no.85 328.3658 Public Accounts Committee Secretariat Patricia Azarias, MPA Princeton, BA(Hons) Oxon., BA(Hons); Director Ian Clarke, BSc Syd., DipGeosc Macq.; Senior Project Officer Jozef lmrich, BA Deakin; Clerk to the Committee Caterina Sciara; Assistant Committee Officer Wendy Terlecki; Assistant Committee Officer John Lynas, FCPA, Accounting and Auditing Advisor Auditor-General's Office Public Accounts Committee Parliament House Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone (02) 230 2631 Facsimile (02) 230 2831 Annual Report for 1993-94 CONTENTS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE . 3 CHAIRMAN'S REVIEW . 7 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR ................................. 11 REPORTS TABLED .................................... 11 OTHER SIGNIFICANT EVENTS . 11 CHARTER .............................................. 13 CORPORATE PLAN ........................................ 15 MISSION STATEMENT ................................. 15 ORJECTIVES . 15 STRATEGIES ........................................ 15 Initiating inquiries . 15 Examining Auditor-General's reports . 15 The inquiry process . 16 Taking evidence ..........•....................... 16 Following up .................................... 17 Review of legislation . 17 Public education .................................. 18 Deliberative meetings ............................... 18 TARGETS FOR 1993-94 ................................. 18 ACTIVITIES IN 1993-94 ............................ 19 HEARINGS, MEETINGS AND INSPECTIONS ................... 19 PRESS RELEASES ISSUED 1993/94 PERIOD ................... 24 SUMMARY ......................................... 25 CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, SYMPOSIA ..................... 27 ACHIEVEMENTS IN 1993-94 .................................. 31 REPORTS TABLED .................................... 31 73. Infrastructure Management and Financing in New South Wales Volume 1: From Concept to Contract- Management of Infrastructure Projects . 31 74. Inquiry into Financing of Urban Infrastructure - Report on United States Study Tour ........................ 34 75. Annual Report 1992-1993 ......................... 34 76. The Financing of Infrastructure Projects Discussion Paper ..... 34 77. Proceedings of the Conference on Risk & Return - Traditional & Innovative Financing for Infrastructure Projects ........ 34 1 Public Accounts Committee 78. Proceedings of the Seminar on Internal Audit - Implementation of Change . 37 79. ExpaMion of Hawkesbury District Health Services . 38 80. Infrastructure Management and Financing in New South Wales Volume 2: Public-Private Partnerships-Risk & Return in Infrastructure Financing ......................... 39 81. Public Defenders .............................. 42 82. Matters Arising from the Auditor-General's Reports ......... 43 83. Preparation for Peer Review of Auditor-General's Office . 43 Exception reJX>rt . 44 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR 1993-94 ......................... 45 STATEMENT BY APPOINTED MEMBERS .................... 45 INDEPENDENT AUDIT REPORT . 46 OPERATING STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30 JUNE 1994 . 47 NOTES TO AND FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS . 47 OPERATING EXPENSES ................................ 49 EXPENDITURE BY MONTH .............................. 51 CONSULT~ ...................................... 51 ACCOUNT PAYMENT PERFORMANCE ...................... 52 TARGETS FOR 1994-95 ..................................... 53 APPENDICES . 55 APPENDIX 1 . .. 57 1. ORIGIN OF COMMITIEE INQUIRIES ................... 57 2. PREVIOUS REPORTS .............................. 61 3. SECRETARIAT .................................. 74 Equal employment opJX>rtunity & Code of Conduct .................................. 74 4. ANNUAL REPORT PRINTING ........................ 75 5. CONTACT INFORMATION .......................... 75 APPENDIX 2 ............................................ 77 1. SELECTED SPEECHES (given by the Committee on a subject of accountability) ................................... 77 2. MEDIA COVERAGE 1993-94 . 117 INDEX ........ 0 • 0 • 0 0 •• 0 • o 0 0 • 0 • 0 • 0 o • 0 • 0 • 0 o o • 0 0 • 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 121 2 Annual Report for 1993-94 MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMI'ITEE Members of the Public Accounts Superannuation. He is also the Premier's Committee of the 50th Parliament during representative on the Anzac House Trust 1993-94 were: and the Anzac Memorial Trust. Mr Andrew Tink, BA, LLB, MP, Chairman Mr Geoff Irwin, MBA, ProdEngCert, DipTech, DipEd, Before becoming Liberal Member for MP Eastwood in March 1988, Andrew Tink practised as a barrister in equity, Geoff Irwin was elected to Parliament in commercial and shipping law. He has March 1984 as the Labor Member for since served on numerous parliamentary Merrylands, and he has been the and government committees, holding the Member for Fairfield since March 1988. position of Chairman of the Joint Before entering Parliament he worked in Committee on the Office of the industry as a planning and supply Ombudsman prior to his appointment to manager and taught business studies at the Public Accounts Committee. He was T AFE. He served as a member of the also an Acting Speaker in the Legislative Select Committee upon Small Business Assembly and its representative on the and as Opposition Spokesperson on Macquarie University Council, and a Business and Consumer Affairs. member of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Mr Terry Rumble, FCPA, MP Corruption. He has served. as Chairman of the Committee until his appointment Terry Rumble was elected Labor as Parliamentary Secretary assisting the Member for Illawarra in March 1988. Premier on 13 July 1994. Before entering Parliament he qualified as an accountant and was employed in Mr Peter Cochran, MP, Vice­ public practice and in the coal mining Chairman industry. He has served as a member of the Regulation Review Committee and is Following a background in farming, the the Chairman of the Leader of the Army, the Commonwealth Police, ASIO, Opposition's Backbench Committee and the Cooma-Monaro Shire Council, which involves Treasury, arts and ethnic Peter Cochran won the seat of Monaro affairs. for the National Party in 1988. His other parliamentary responsibilities include the Mr Ian Glachan, MP chairmanship of the Minister's Advisory Committee on Land and Water The Liberal Member for Albury since Conservation, deputy chairmanship of the 1988, Ian Glachan has had a varied Committee for Police and Emergency background. He served five years at· sea Services, and membership of the as a marine engineer, was a farmer for Committee for the Environment and the ten years, and operated a newsagency in Select Committee on Public Sector Albury for 18 years. Mr Glachan is also 3 Public Accounts Committee a past president of the Albury-Hume Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow, an active member of the Anglican Church, and the Legislative Assembly member on the Board of Governors of Charles Sturt University. Other parliamentary responsibilities include chairmanship of the Minister's Advisory Committee on Health, and vice­ chairmanship of the Minister's Advisory Committee on Roads and Transport. Mr Glachan was elected Chairman of the Committee on 15 September 1994. The Public Accounts Committee during 1993-94 From left: Geoff Irwin, lan Glachan, Andrew Tink (Chairman), Terry Rumble, Peter Cochran (Vice-Chairman) 4 Annual Report for 1993-94 The following Member was appointed to the Public Accounts Committee on 14 September 1994 in place of Andrew Tink. Mr Andrew Humpherson, MP The Liberal member for Davidson since May 1992, Andrew Humpherson was Deputy Shire President of Warringah Shire Council having served several terms on the Council. Mr Humpherson was an Area Manager for Shell. He has also worked as an Engineer for Repco and Shell. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of New South Wales. His other parliamentary responsibilities have included the Chairmanship of the Select Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions and Legislation Committee upon the Endangered Species Bill. He has served as a Member of Select Committee into Water Board, State Owned Coal Mines, Bushfires, and the Joint Committee on the Office of the Ombudsman. The Present Public Accounts Committee From left: Terry Rumble, Andrew Humpherson, Ian Glachan (Chairman), Geoff Irwin Peter Cochran (Vice-Chairman) 5 Public Accounts Committee 6 Annual Report for 1991-94 CHAIRMAN'S REVIEW 1§§~!§4 The past year has been the moo productive one in the 92-year history of the Public Accounts Committee. Eleven reports were published, three public meetings were organised, including a sell­ out conference at the Opera House attended by 250 people, thirty-seven