Accountability of the executive

Question 1

Probity and proprietary

Answer 1

Ministers need to act with integrity and to the highest standard, Eg not being corrupt, avoiding conflict, taking responsibility for problems

Question 2

Holding the executive accountable

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Three parts of the executive

Answer 3

Monarch represented by the Governor General
Prime Minister, Cabinet and Ministry
Public service

Question 4

Who holds executive power?

Answer 4

Formally vested in the Queen but exercisable by the Governor General

Question 5

Section 62

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Why should the government be held accountable?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

How are ministers held accountable?

Answer 7

Government is held accountable through Westminster conventions, most importantly individual and collective ministerial responsibility

Question 8

Individual ministerial responsibility

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Collective ministerial responsibility

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Positives of ministerial accountability (4)

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Ineffectiveness of Individual ministerial responsibility (2)

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Senate estimates

Answer 12

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

Question 13

How senate estimates function

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Positives of senate estimates (4)

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Ineffectiveness of senate estimates (3)

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Auditor general

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Role of the auditor general

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Positives of the auditor general (4)

Answer 18

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)

Question 19

Ineffectiveness of auditor general (3)

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Administrative appeals tribunal

Answer 20

Created by the Administrative appeals tribunal act 1975, Only concerned with the accountability of the public service of its administrative decisions

Question 21

Role of the administrative appeals tribunal

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Positives of the AAT (3)

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Ineffectiveness of AAT (2)

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Sports rorts

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Car park rorts

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Robodebt

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Integrity legislation

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Ineffectiveness of collective ministerial responsibility (3)

Answer 28

Cabinet solidarity, reactive meaning accountability can come after gov has changed (robodebt), never been a successful motion of no confidence

Question 29

Positive of collective ministerial responsibility

Answer 29

Convention establishes an expectation of ministerial conduct and behaviour

Question 30

Individual ministerial responsibility examples

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Collective ministerial responsibility examples

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Senate COVID-19 select committee

Answer 32

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