Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has moved to alter the duties of the NT’s fiscal watchdog, but failed to consult with him about the changes, raising questions over what else the government intends to alter involving the Auditor-General’s powers and responsibilities, while failing to address critical risks to the office’s independence raised in a review earlier this year.
Ms Finocchiaro announced amendments to the Public Information Act on Thursday in Parliament, that would transfer responsibility for enforcing breaches of the Public Information Act from the Auditor-General to the Ombudsman.
Hey Chief, this happens when you, curiously, don’t remove the ALP apparatus from the CLP Administered Government.
Question: Why is that?
A further attack by the Finocchiaro government on bodies supposed to be independent, that are charged with holding the government to financial and ethical account. Why worry? Politicians and senior public servants in the Territory have always been known to do the ‘right and proper thing’! That’s clearly why taxpayers get value for money, businesses want to invest and the NT is such a go-ahead sort of place – (for a Southern American State).
No Don the auditor is supposed to be keeping the public servants in line, they have not done this for many years.
Agree Boof. Meant to be ironical!