Start the Change

I really would like to know, what really has Liberal done to show that the Labor government is not doing their job, rant, rhapsody, rhetoric,  to which is grossly pretentious inflated speeches and writings, and the art of speaking in public  non-eloquently and just manifesting pure rubbish.

The NSW Liberals & Nationals are committed to disciplined and effective management of State Government finances in order to fund the delivery of basic services, like hospitals, schools and roads.

We simply cannot live beyond our means. Over the last 10 years, expenses have grown at an average of 6.6 per cent - and 7.6 per cent this financial year.[1] At the same time, revenues have only grown by 5.7 per cent.[2]

A NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will conduct a complete audit of the NSW Government’s financial position within nine months of taking office.[3]

The audit will be an open process that will encourage participation from the public service and from the public. It will be thorough, independent and will rule a line under Labor’s incompetence.

The audit will be undertaken by experts, tasked with identifying and reporting on issues including:

• - the state of the NSW balance sheet, including on budget and off budget assets and liabilities;
• - the long-term sustainability of the NSW Budget position, including the underlying cost and revenue drivers;
• - weaknesses in financial controls and financial risk management frameworks;
• - wasted expenditure that has built up over 14 years of Labor including program and infrastructure cost overruns;
• - opportunities to strengthen the NSW financial position;
• - a review of all costs and performance of State Government services to global benchmarks; and
• - measures to drive better performance through increased accountability and transparency in financial reporting.

An interim report will be completed before our first Budget is handed down in 2011, with a final report completed by the end of that year.

The community has a right to expect decisions to be made on the basis of merit and public interest, and for those decisions not to be swayed by special access or political donations.

Without public trust, no government can achieve its goals for the people it serves.

The growth of ‘decisions for donations’ culture under NSW Labor has eroded community confidence in public administration.

It has arisen against a background of NSW Labor’s fundraising effort in the lead up to the 2007 election which saw it raise $24 million – or $115,000 a week – over four years.[1]

It was reinforced by the concentration of decision-making powers in the hands of Ministers, for example the Planning Minister, and came into sharper focus during the Wollongong corruption enquiry, involving ALP councillors.

As part of a wider program to restore honesty and accountability to government, the NSW Liberals & Nationals will:

• - introduce limits on election spending, to be set by an independent arbiter;
• - apply spending limits to groups other than political parties who seek to influence voters, whether union, business or community based.  Without this provision candidates or parties could use special interest groups or other ‘third parties’ to circumvent campaign spending limits; and
• - impose an annual cap on how much a person is able to donate to the candidate or political party of their choice.  Donation caps will be set by an independent arbiter.

Accountability is the driver of good government. The ultimate accountability is at the ballot box on Election Day.

After nearly sixteen years of incompetence and scandal the community is rightfully frustrated. However, until March 2011 there is no way for people to hold Labor to account.

Moreover with the security of four-year terms there is no pressure on Labor to deliver across all four years rather than just focusing on the final year.

In government, a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will respond to citizen interest in this issue, and establish an independent panel of constitutional experts to advise on the potential for recall elections in NSW.

The panel of experts will examine:

• - international practices, including in 18 of 50 states in America that have recall provisions, and their applicability to a Westminster system;
• - reasons under which a recall election could be petitioned for in NSW and the extent of the recall provision;
• - the appropriate percentage of voters that would need to petition and the time frame for signature collection;
• - processes for auditing of signatures and funding of the process; and
• - the best ways for constitutional reform to take place in NSW, including potential referendum questions to be put at 2012 local government elections and the 2015 NSW State election.

Yet despite strong support for fixed four year terms when they were introduced, strong public sentiment has emerged in reaction to NSW Labor’s incompetence in office, that the community should have options to bring an election forward.

It was a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government that established the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 1989.

Its principal functions are to investigate and expose corrupt conduct in the NSW public sector; actively prevent corruption through advice and assistance; and educate the NSW community and public sector about corruption and its effects.[1]

Over the last decade or more, scandals and corruption involving public sector decisions (including matters involving RailCorp and Wollongong City Council) highlight that there is still more to be done.

Government Ministers must be strongly accountable for upholding high standards.

In government the NSW Liberals & Nationals will:

• - strengthen the powers of ICAC and impose an obligation upon Ministers to report possible corrupt conduct.

Part 3 Section 11 of the ICAC Act currently requires the State’s most senior public servants ‘…to report to the Commission any matter that the officer suspects on reasonable grounds concerns or may concern corrupt conduct’.

This includes the Ombudsman, Commissioner of Police, heads of public authorities and directors of departments – but not state government Ministers.

A NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will amend the ICAC Act and extend this corruption-reporting obligation to state government Ministers.

Australians have lost faith in their elected officials.

A recent Roy Morgan poll found that just 16 per cent of Australians rate their Members of Parliament as having ‘high’ or ‘very high’ standards of ethics and honesty.[1]

Similarly a Reader’s Digest poll showed that in terms of ‘trusted professions’ politics ranked behind astrologers and car salesmen, and only just above telemarketers.[2]

This crisis of confidence stems, in part, from the public perception of the influence lobbyists have on government.

Political lobbying is a perfectly legitimate activity, and an integral part of the democratic process.

However, it needs to be properly regulated. The public needs to be absolutely confident that decisions are made in the public interest, and are not unduly influenced by sectional, commercial or private interests. 

A NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will introduce effective regulation of lobbyists in NSW including:

• - establishing a more comprehensive Lobbyists’ Register: Currently, NSW Labor’s register ignores former Ministers and MPs, unions and industry groups, whose dealings with government should also be subject to public scrutiny. A NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will ensure the NSW Lobbyists’ Register covers all those seeking to influence government decisions; and
• - banning ‘success fees’ for Lobbyists: The NSW Liberals & Nationals will also ban lobbyists’ so-called ‘success fees’ – payments over and above normal service fees when a desired outcome is achieved for a client. Besides creating incentives for lobbyists to cut ethical corners, success fees feed public concern that access and decisions rest on factors other than merit and public interest.

Honest and ethical government results in good government; government that delivers better outcomes for the people it represents, and achieves trust.

It will come as no surprise that unlike their Queensland counterparts NSW Labor has failed to establish a Public Sector Ethics Act. As a result the NSW public service has no clear whole-of-government statement of values and ethics.

In 2002, the ICAC Commissioner released a report on Codes of Conduct and stated “Almost every public sector organisation in NSW now has a code of conduct - an achievement to be proud of.”[1]

The report also stated that “ICAC investigations invariably uncover substantial breaches of codes by public officials. The public officials in the witness stand usually claim that they were either not aware that a code of conduct existed, or that their organisation’s code was irrelevant.”[2]

The NSW Liberals & Nationals believe honesty and integrity in government, at all levels, is essential to delivering the services and administration the community expects.

In government we will introduce legislation to:

• - establish a set of ethics and values for Ministers and the Public Service.  It will be developed in consultation with ICAC and the public sector, and will require the ethics and values established in the legislation to be reflected in the codes of conduct of each government department and agency.

The NSW Liberals & Nationals will restore trust and confidence in our public service, uphold the tenants of sound and accountable ‘Westminster’ government and rebuild the appeal and respect of a public service career.

In government the NSW Liberals & Nationals will establish a NSW Public Service Commission to improve the integrity, performance and accountability of the State’s public sector workforce.

The NSW Public Service Commission will:

• - ensure NSW has a qualified and professional public service;
• - restore the highest levels of integrity, impartiality, ability, accountability and leadership in the NSW public service;
• - ensure public service positions are filled on the basis of individuals' merit and qualifications;
• - assist the NSW public service to become an employer of choice that is attractive to the highest calibre of individual candidates;
• - promote a public sector culture where initiative, the achievement of results and individual responsibility are strongly valued; and
• - rebuild the public’s confidence in the NSW public service.

The NSW Public Service Commission will drive improvement through the following initiatives:

• - monitoring, auditing and enforcing compulsory public advertisement of all public sector positions;
• - reviewing and reporting on agency performance against standards for public sector recruitment and selection processes; and
• - conducting independent investigations into employment actions to ensure they have been objective and fair and not subject to patronage.

The NSW Liberals & Nationals value and respect the professionalism and service of dedicated public servants, and want to strengthen their ability to provide impartial and expert advice to the government of the day, respecting the best of our ‘Westminster’ traditions in public sector governance.

The community has the right to openness, accountability and transparency when it comes to government decision-making and information.

Community scrutiny of government – including through increased access to government information – both protects the public interest and propels better public sector decision-making and performance.

In government the NSW Liberals & Nationals will pursue a new era of open government.

This will include reforming the Freedom of Information (FOI) process based on the following basic principles and initiatives:

• - pro-active disclosure of government information;
• - one-stop online shop for information from all government agencies;
• - enforced public disclosure of government contracts and grants; and
• - no cost for FOI applications and the establishment of mandatory deadlines.

We will also appoint a fully independent Open Government Commissioner within the Office of the NSW Ombudsman who will:

• - play an independent ‘watchdog’ role and drive the information-sharing performance of Government agencies toward the highest standards of openness, accountability and transparency;
• - provide citizens with advice and hear complaints on FOI and other government information matters; and
• - report annually on the government’s overall performance and on the comparative performance of government agencies, including total number of requests, number of requests complied with, turnaround times, number of complaints and number of complaints upheld or denied.

The people of NSW deserve open government.

Taxpayers’ money should not be used for political advertising. It is a principle of good government, and accountable and transparent democracy that taxpayers deserve to know that government revenues are being responsibly and acceptably spent only in the public interest.

Since 1995, Labor has spent almost more than one billion dollars of taxpayers’ money on government advertising.[1]

In 2007 alone the NSW State Labor Government spent $111.7 million on taxpayer funded advertising.[2] This means it was the seventh biggest advertiser in the country. Its annual advertising expenditure is bigger than McDonalds and Commonwealth Bank combined.[3]

The NSW Auditor-General has deemed the current advertising guidelines as inadequate to prevent the use of public funds for party political purposes.

The Auditor-General has stated that the increase in the amount spent on government advertising leading up to the 2007 State election “contributes to the perception that government advertising may inappropriately serve the political interests of the party in government.”[4]

In a review of recent government advertising campaigns, the Auditor-General found that some claims in Government advertising could be “misleading”, and that the budgets for some campaigns, such as the Government’s budget advertising were “excessive in relation to its objective”.[5]

In government the NSW Liberals & Nationals will:

• - introduce legislation to require approval of the Auditor-General for advertising campaigns; and
• - give the Auditor-General the power to make governing political parties pay for taxpayer-funded advertising found to be overtly ‘political’.

The Auditor-General will have the authority to scrutinise government publicity that appears to have the capacity, in whole or in part, to influence public support for a political party.