Is the public being served? Auditor reveals a grim picture of widespread bureaucratic failure
When put together, the ANAO’s last five years of audits reveal massive failures across the public service.
After five years under Auditor-General Grant Hehir and his agenda to expand the scope of Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) activity, we’ve accumulated a detailed picture of program and policy administration by the Commonwealth public service, its ministers and their staff. And it isn’t pretty.
This week has revealed the department’s bizarre 1000% mark-up for a Coalition donor in the purchase of land at Western Sydney Airport; earlier this year, the ANAO gave us the sports rorts scandal, which ended up costing another National MP their ministry and discredited Liberal-staffer-turned-PM&C head Phil Gaetjens.
But they’re only two of more run-of-the-mill scandals unearthed by the auditors recently. Since 2015, the ANAO has exposed deep flaws in the public service, over and over.