A new independent report has laid bare the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government’s lack of transparency when it comes to the way taxpayers’ money is being used in the public service.
 
The Final Report of the PGPA Act 2013 and Rule Independent Review released this week criticises the current lack of transparency around the use of contractors and consultants and the reporting of executive remuneration for Government entities.
 
It’s well past time for Scott Morrison and Mathias Cormann to reveal just how much taxpayer money they are wasting through labour-hire firms instead of hiring permanent staff.
 
Labor has already committed to greater transparency concerning the use of contractors, consultants and labour-hire firms in the public service, and it’s time the Turnbull Government got on board too.
 
On executive remuneration, Labor has already committed to the report’s recommendations, they’re consistent with the Auditor-General’s views (p. 9), and the overhaul was a key recommendation in a Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit report as well.
 
The Liberals made amendments which created the problem in the first place – a loophole that subsequently allowed Australia Post to avoid disclosing the former CEO’s salary of $5.6 million in its annual report.
 
The Liberals have since informally asked some Commonwealth entities to revert back to the previous reporting regime, but these half-hearted, piecemeal requests don’t go far enough. Some agencies have refused to publish this information, even after three requests.
 
If the Turnbull Government doesn’t act on this, a Shorten Labor Government will.
 
Taxpayers have a right to know how much of their money is going to contractors, consultants and well-paid executives, and it’s about time the Liberals realised that.