Victoria’s $434m crime proceeds haul cops a caning

By Julian Bajkowski Victoria’s system of confiscating money and assets from the state’s organised criminals and drug dealers has been found sorely wanting by the state’s Auditor General after a new report highlighted a raft of operational and governance shortcomings. An audit of the state’s Asset Confiscation Scheme by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office released […]

Developer group wants councils as members

By Julian Bajkowski Property development industry group Urban Taskforce has taken the highly controversial step of throwing open its doors to allow local governments to formally become “associate members” of the lobbying outfit as it seeks to redefine its engagement with policymakers. The move comes as the New South Wales government scopes-out a root-and-branch overhaul […]

Council transparency under fire from Vic Auditor

By Julian Bajkowski Victoria’s Auditor General has criticised the state’s 79 councils over a glaring lack of clarity and detail in the way they determine and reveal how more than $4 billion in rates and charges a year are levied on constituents, despite the local governments having a “common rating framework.”  In a report issued […]

Grappling with the world of contract governance

By Lilia Guan   In the public sector, at the local government level recording and notification of upcoming contract-related events is currently a manual process, prone to error and de-prioritisation.   Where suppliers’ invoices are lodged electronically into the accounts payable system, visibility of charges is typically lost.   Also there’s no formal mechanism to […]

CSA unveils scholarship recipients

Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA) announced on Thursday the winners of its inaugural public sector scholarship valued at $12,325. The peak professional body developed the national scholarship award to recognise the growing importance of governance and risk management practice within the public sector. The scholarship incorporated the Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance. CSA chief executive […]

O’Farrell pledges to reform public service

By Angela Dorizas NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell has made an election promise to strengthen professionalism in public sector governance and slash the number of ministerial staff. Presenting at the Chartered Secretaries Australia Public Sector Update on Tuesday, Mr O’Farrell said the potential of the state’s public service was  “squandered by poor governance”. He pledged […]

Steps to good governance

By Philip Shanahan What does a golfer, tennis player or cricketer focus on to achieve high performance? They nearly always give the same answer: “Repeat my process – that is the process they have practised a million times – replicate it under real pressure and trust in my ability”. High performance in sport is achieved […]

Shellharbour was no Wollongong, says GM

By Rob O’Brien Nearly one year after Shellharbour City Council was dismissed and put under administration by the NSW Department of Local Government (DLG), the council’s general manager Brian Weir has said the sacking should not be associated with neighbouring Wollongong. Weir, who will be presenting a case study on Shellharbour City Council at the 16th […]

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