Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (16:16): Last month, I was delighted, as the chair of the Economic and Finance Committee, to host the biennial conference of the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees (ACPAC) in Adelaide. Oddly enough, all the people I want to thank are in the chamber. As unparliamentary as it is to suggest that they are in the chamber, they are in the chamber.

The Economic and Finance Committee and the Statutory Authorities Review Committee in the other place are both members of this council, and this year it fell upon the chair of the Economic and Finance Committee to also chair ACPAC. ACPAC is an organisation set up essentially to exchange information and opinions about public accounts committees in order to improve their performance and increase the quality of the oversight and accountability of government expenditure. ACPAC also aims to improve how public accounts committees communicate with auditors-general, experts in the field, the media and the public.

ACPAC holds biennial conferences for members, and interested non-member committees from the region, and smaller members-only mid-term meetings on alternate years. These conferences really are a great opportunity to exchange views and experiences between the different jurisdictions both within Australasia and in the broader Pacific region and beyond. This year, we were fortunate to have members of both ACPAC and the Australasian Council of Auditors-General present, along with a variety of invited guests. We had representatives from all states and territories in Australia as well as delegates and guests from New Zealand, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Niue, Samoa and South Africa.

All in all, there were almost 90 delegates, almost all of them visitors to Adelaide. Not only did they get to spend three days or more in our beautiful city but the conference itself allowed us to showcase the Adelaide Oval as a world-class conference venue. The India delegation particularly were thrilled to be at the home of the Bradman Museum, and a highlight for them and many others was the opportunity to be photographed in front of the historic old scoreboard, which was emblazoned with the name of the conference. It was a real honour.

The theme of the conference was Inquiring Minds—Public Accountability. It provided a broad platform for thought-provoking conversation and debate in the areas in which public accounts committees operate. I was particularly pleased to welcome Fiji back to ACPAC and to Adelaide, as it was the first time they had participated as members of ACPAC in a number of years. Following their elections in September 2014, there has been a renewed focus on government accountability in Fiji. The Hon. Biman Prasad, the chair of their public accounts committee and shadow finance minister, spoke at the ACPAC council meeting about his happiness at being able to reconnect with the broader Australasian public accounts community. He expects to table his first public accounts committee report to parliament this month.

Another highlight for me was chairing a panel session, which looked at the changing face of public accountability, with Commissioner Lander, the South Australian Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Mr John Doyle, the Victorian Auditor-General, and Dr Andrew Southcott, the chair of the Commonwealth Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.

A special appearance by our Deputy Premier on the Politicians versus Parliamentarians panel on day 2 was also a highlight. He appeared with ACPAC colleagues, the Hon. Ruth Forrest MLA, from the Tasmanian Public Accounts Committee, and Mr Sean L'Estrange, from the Western Australian Public Accounts Committee. The Deputy Premier's colourful contribution, and his slightly controversial observations about the functions of select committees in another place, set the tone—unbeknownst to him—for many of the subsequent sessions. He was extremely frank and fearless with his comments and his criticisms of the other place.

I want to publicly thank everyone who made the conference run so smoothly and so well, particularly all the invited guests. The cross-pollination of ideas is what makes a good conference work, and there were many interesting discussions both on and off the stage. I want to thank the staff of the Adelaide Oval, who really bent over backwards to make us feel welcome and accommodate changes both in our program and in the unpredictable April weather. I want to thank the South Australian committee members who contributed and worked so hard facilitating sessions and also making our interstate and international guests so welcome. The member for Kaurna, the member for Colton, the member for Bright, briefly the member for Elder, and the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars from the other place deserve special mention.

However, mostly I want to thank the committee's executive officers Susie Barber and Lisa Baxter, who really worked so hard for nearly a year—but mostly in the last few months—to really pull it all together, as well as the staff from other committees who devoted their own time, including several late nights and early mornings, to ensuring that the conference was a success. The week before—

Mr Griffiths: Were they there, these blokes?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Mr ODENWALDER: No, they were not. The member for Unley was not there, and I am glad you raised that.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Mr ODENWALDER: The week before there was some suggestion in the media—which, in fact, came from the member for Unley—that the committee was not working hard enough. That really was insulting both for the members who did work on that committee, including the member for Bright, and particularly for the staff, who worked so hard on it.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am incredibly disappointed that the member for Hartley cannot start until the chamber comes to order.

An honourable member: Sorry, Chair.