Accountability of the executive Flashcards
Probity and proprietary
Ministers need to act with integrity and to the highest standard, Eg not being corrupt, avoiding conflict, taking responsibility for problems
Holding the executive accountable
No direct method of holding the executive accountable, Accountable to parliament, not the people, Government is accountable for administrative decisions and political and legal power, Executive officials such as Ministers are responsible for public service
Three parts of the executive
Monarch represented by the Governor General
Prime Minister, Cabinet and Ministry
Public service
Who holds executive power?
Formally vested in the Queen but exercisable by the Governor General
Section 62
Makes the Federal Executive Council (EXCO) the link between the constitutional executive and elected parliamentary executive which gives legal force to decisions made by cabinet
Why should the government be held accountable?
It is vital that Government is held accountable as they can do many things such as levy taxes, conduct surveillance, gather and retain information, restrict rights, detain citizens and declare war
How are ministers held accountable?
Government is held accountable through Westminster conventions, most importantly individual and collective ministerial responsibility
Individual ministerial responsibility
Holds ministers responsible in the lower house, Ministers must be competent, honest and conduct themselves in a manner appropriate for a minister, if not Parliament can censure a minister for failing these standards, By convention, when censured by Parliament a minister should resign
Collective ministerial responsibility
Holds cabinet and ministry (elected parliamentary executive) accountable to the House of Representatives, The executive must resign if they cannot command the confidence of the house, A vote of no confidence by the House of Representatives can break a government
Positives of ministerial accountability (4)
Although the Government can defeat motions against their Ministers, an opposition censure allows the opposition to speak to the motion, In theory ministers are responsible to Parliament, Parliamentary speeches can target an incompetent or corrupt minister and apply public pressure forcing a minister to resign, Convention establishes an expectation of ministerial conduct and behaviour
Ineffectiveness of Individual ministerial responsibility (2)
Has never been a censure motion passed in the HOR due to party discipline and Government control of the HOR (last one was in 2013- Simon Crean), In practice Ministers are accountable to the Prime Minister who will seek to manage departure of a Minister in a way that causes the least political damage
Senate estimates
Estimates of government expenditure, which are referred to Senate Committees as part of the annual budget cycle, Gives opportunity to examine the operations of Government allowing for parliamentary scrutiny
How senate estimates function
Meets two-three times a year, Has 6 members each, Open to the public and press, Directly questions public servants from the relevant agency, as well as the responsible minister, Used by non-government senators to probe into issues of government policy, not just expenditure plans
Positives of senate estimates (4)
Held in public session, Provide individual senators and opportunity to gather information of the operations of government, May request a minister from the HOR but they have no obligation to attend, Have the power to send for persons or papers meaning they can demand that individuals officials and documents are made available
Ineffectiveness of senate estimates (3)
Don’t take written submissions from the general public, Oral evidence is drawn from the ranks of personnel employed in the Federal Public Service and its agencies, Only ministers who are senators are obliged to appear at Senate Estimates
Auditor general
Public officer (independent of government) appointed by the Government who conducts independent audits of government spending to ensure it is in accordance with legislation, Appointed by the Governor General with a term of ten years
Role of the auditor general
Requires independence from the executive, Role does not extend to commenting on the merits of government policy, Focuses on financial statement audits and performance audits that assess the extent to which programs have been implemented efficiently and effectively in accordance with legislation and government policy, Has a primary relationship with the joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
Positives of the auditor general (4)
Have a statutory duty to examine all reports of the auditor-general that are tabled in parliament, Can investigate issues of accountability and recommend action including disciplinary action, Non-parliamentary forms of executive accountability, Transparent, report back to parliament (executive is accountable to parliament, parliament is responsible to the people)
Ineffectiveness of auditor general (3)
Limited by separation of powers as they are statutory bodies that can be modified or abolished by a new statute, Lack judicial power which is only exercisable by the court meaning they can’t make judgements and impose lawful penalties, Recommendations are not binding
Administrative appeals tribunal
Created by the Administrative appeals tribunal act 1975, Only concerned with the accountability of the public service of its administrative decisions
Role of the administrative appeals tribunal
Review the merit of decisions and whether it was correctly based on law and government procedures, Any party affected by a decision of the executive can appeal to the AAT such as taxation, social security and refugee migration reviews, Merit review- involves considering afresh the facts, law and policy relating to that decision
Positives of the AAT (3)
Merit based reviews (revoking the cancelling (due to 20 month prison) of the applicant’s child visa as she had become more stable and staying in Aus allowed better rehabilitation, unlikely to re-offend) Less formal than courts meaning it is easier to access and to appeal, Provide unbiased and independent adjudication
Ineffectiveness of AAT (2)
No power to consider the constitutional validity of particular laws of legality of government decision making, politicisation of tribunal members which lead to disbandment by Labor Gov in dec 2022 by Attorney general
Sports rorts
Early 2020, Auditor general concluded that Minister McKenzie made grants “inconsistent with the published guidelines”, Minister McKenzie directed spending towards projects in marginal coalition electorates (swing seats), ignoring Sports Australia’s advice, Raised concerns about the misuse of public funds and abuse of grant allocation for political purpose, Brought to public attention by senate estimates which brought public pressure, Government enquiry commissioned by Scott Morrison caused her to resign
Car park rorts
Arose from a 2021 report by the Auditor-General that 77% of car park sites selected were in Coalition electorates, rather than in recommended areas by various departments, Involved allegations of political favouritism and the biased allocation of funds to construct thirteen car parks, Damaged Minister Tudge but did not cause resignation or dismissal, even when brought to public attention by senate estimates, due to retaining the Prime Ministers support, Minister Tudge later resigned in 2022 after losing office
Robodebt
Government scheme administered under the Social Services Act 1991, Started in 2016, Aimed to automate debt recovery of welfare overpayments using data-matching technology to compare Centrelink and Tax Office data (only looked at a small period of time and was then averaged out for the whole year), Had little human oversight and the onus of proof laid with the debtor to prove their debts were incorrect, Faced criticism from the AAT who warned the Morrison Government about the potential illegality of the scheme, Legal case was brought to the federal court which found the algorithm’s used were illegal, stopping the scheme immediately, Government had to repay over $720 million to welfare recipients and pay $1.2 billion in compensation to 400,000 welfare recipients harmed by the scheme, Reactive accountability- came to attention once the Morrison Government where no longer in Government, if still in government it is likely Ministers would have resigned under IMR
Integrity legislation
In the 46th Parliament, two legislations to create an independent federal anti-corruption commission were introduced and read but ultimately blocked by the majority Government, 47th Parliament had a mandate to create a federal anti-corruption commission and did so by passing the National Anti-corruption commission bill 2022 which received royal assent at the end of 2022 and established the National Anti-corruption commission from the 1st July 2023
Ineffectiveness of collective ministerial responsibility (3)
Cabinet solidarity, reactive meaning accountability can come after gov has changed (robodebt), never been a successful motion of no confidence
Positive of collective ministerial responsibility
Convention establishes an expectation of ministerial conduct and behaviour
Individual ministerial responsibility examples
Colbeck failed to recall basic and “tragic facts”, censured in senate so wasn’t compelled to resign, PM support, Gov called royal commission
Morrison had been validly appointed to administer the department of industry, science, energy and resources in April 2021 under section 64, censured in HOR 2022 but was no longer PM
Collective ministerial responsibility examples
1941- Gov resigned after losing vote on supply bill proactively avoiding vote of no confidence
Medevac 2019- Gov lost on own legislation, Shorten tried to say gov had lost confidence of lower house, Morrison called bluff by challenging him to initiate a vote of no confidence
Senate COVID-19 select committee
Made to inquire into the Government’s response to COVID-19, Senator Davey asked a question regarding Aus COVID research and the committee responded saying in March the Gov $3.35 million and that UQLND was part of worldwide development of a vaccine
