An Analysis of Governmental Performance in Australia

846 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Traditional performance measure

Research and Referencing Assignment

ARTS1840 – Semester 1, 2010

z3332769

Critical analysis

The Australian Journal of Public Administration’s research and evaluation paper explores the parliamentary scrutiny of government performance in Australia. It observes the processes the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia can use to make ministers and public servants accountable for the performance of their relevant departments. These decisions are made on the basis of performance data that each department is required to provide as well as parliamentary committee inquiries.

Thomas’ article highlights that the publication of performance data is not accountability – rather, there must be consequences following an examination of this data.

To assess parliament’s performance in its ability to scrutinise various government departments, the article draws attention to the two houses of parliament. The House of Representatives is generally under strict government control while the Senate is very rarely controlled by the ruling government, giving it a greater ability to scrutinise government performance. (Thomas 2009: 373)

The article states that there are two primary documents used to represent performance to parliament. These are the required annual reports and the estimate reports from various departments. The annual reports are required to be submitted to parliament by October 31st every year (Thomas 2009: 374). Initially, these documents focused on the financial side of the department in question, but have begun to cover other areas relevant to performance.

The argument presented by Thomas generally provides praise for the Commonwealth Government’s reforms on introducing mechanisms to keep the public service accountable (Thomas 200...

... middle of paper ...

...ty during the Howard years: 1996-2007’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, 54 (2): 225-247.

Raffin, L (2008). ‘Accountability or inability: to what extent does House of Representatives question time deliver executive accountability comparative to other parliamentary chambers? Is there need for reform?’, Australasian Parliamentary Review, 23 (2): 66-85.

Singleton, G (2008). ‘The Senate a paper tiger?’, in Aulich, C and Wettenhall, R (eds), Howard’s Fourth Government: Australian Commonwealth Administration 2004-2007. Sydney: UNSW Press, pp. 75-94.

Thomas, P (2009). ‘Parliament Scrutiny of Government Performance in Australia’, The Australian Journal of Public Administration, 68 (4): 373-398.

Vander Wyk, J and Lilley, A (2005). ‘Reference of Bills to Australian Senate Committees’, http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/pubs/pops/pop43/pop43.pdf, accessed 26 March 2010.

Show More
Related

  • The Change of the Division of Powers in Australia since 1901.

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    The decision for Australia to adopt the Federal system was on the principle of which the State’s governments wanted to keep their power. For this reason there was the separation of powers between the newly formed Commonwealth government and the existing State governments. At a constitutional level, there are rulings in which the powers are separated, these rulings due to disputes have slightly changed since 1901. These changes all fell towards the one government, the Commonwealth (Federal) government. However this was not just a landslide event, the Constitution of Australia set up this imbalance of powers between the Commonwealth and State governments. We will explore this further in the points discussed later in this essay.

    Read More

  • Limitations of the Canadian Prime Minister

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Mellon’s article, several aspects are mentioned supporting the belief that the prime minister is too powerful. One significant tool the prime minister possesses is “… the power to make a multitude of senior governmental and public service appointments both at home and abroad,” (Mellon 164). Mellon goes on to state the significance the prime minister has when allowed to appoint the government’s key member...

    Read More

  • Gallipoli: The defining moment in Australian National Identity

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    MacDermott, D. (1993). As we see you. In D. Grant & G. Seal (Eds.), Australia in the world (pp. 86-91). Perth: Black Swan Press

    Read More

  • Should Australia Become a Republic?

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    no author. (2011). New Australian of the Year Wants to Debate an Australian Republic. Available: http://www.republic.org.au/story/new-australian-year-wants-australians-debate-australian-republic-courier-mail-26111. Last accessed 20th June 2011.

    Read More

  • Senate Reform In Canada

    2054 Words  | 5 Pages

    Senate reform in Canada has been a popular topic for decades but has yet to be accomplished. Since the Senates formation in 1867 there has been numerous people who call for its reform or abolishment due to the fact it has not changed since its implementation and does not appear to be fulfilling its original role. An impediment to this request is that a constitutional amendment is needed to change the structure of the Senate, which is not an easy feat. Senate reform ideas have developed from other upper houses in counties such as the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany. From those two different successful governments emerges examples of different electoral systems, state representation, and methods of passing legislations.

    Read More

  • Whitlam, Success or failure?

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Australia’s 21st Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was swept into power in December 1972 there was huge anticipation for dramatic and swift change. Australia had been under the control of a conservative liberal government for 23 consecutive years, and Whitlam’s promises if social change were eagerly anticipated. Whitlam, despite his failings as a negotiator, managed to implement a huge array of reforms and changes, many of which shaped Australia into the country it is today. However is that enough to say he succeeded? Even Whitlam today admits that he regrets doing “too much too soon”, and perhaps Whitlam’s government was a government that was too socially progressive for its time, which could perchance have been a foreshadowing of things to come for the most recent labor government of Julia Gillard which has been labeled by some as the most incompetent government since Whitlam. Gough Whitlam has had the most books written and published about him than any other Australian Prime Minister to Date. This essay will argue that Whitlam was a successful leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), who had the ability and charisma to lead Australia in an era of prosperity; he did however succumbed to a few grave errors of judgment that ultimately led to his downfall, however his ultimate goal was to transform Australia which he achieved. Whitlam’s’ errors were seen as being due to his inability take advice from senior figures on how to turn his amateur government into a competent one and his inflexible approach to dealing with the hostile senate that the Australian public gave him, and often led to his government being labeled the worst in Australian history and as a failure.

    Read More

  • Australian Veterans of the Vietnam War

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    House of Representatives. (1965, April 29). Retrieved March 16, 2014, from Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates: http://www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/commemorations/education/Documents/avw_topic1.pdf

    Read More

  • Weakening Canadian Party Discipline

    2143 Words  | 5 Pages

    David Doherty, “Legislatures”. In William Cross, eds., Auditing Canadian Democracy, 10th ed. (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2010)

    Read More

  • Regionalism in Canada

    1815 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stilborn, Jack. Senate Reform: Issues and Recent Developments. Ottawa: Parliamentary Information and Research Service, 2008.

    Read More

  • What Is The Case Of Bureaucracy

    2278 Words  | 5 Pages

    Goodsell, T. C. (2004). The Case for Bureaucracy: A public administration polemic (4th ed.). Washington, DC: CQ Press, SAGE, 2004, 208 pages, $33.81 softcover, ISBN: 978-1-56802-907-8.

    Read More

  • Should Senate Be Abolished Research Paper

    1935 Words  | 4 Pages

    This essay will examine the question as to whether the senate should be abolished or retained. It will draw upon the main values of Australian Public Law to suggest that … In section I, the essay will cover the background and role of the Senate. Section II covers an explanation on the unicameral parliament as an alternative. In section III the Senate’s implications on a representative and responsible government is examined.

    Read More

  • The Role Of The Australian Public Service

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    There have been many changes made to the Australian Public Service since Federation and the most dramatic changes were made towards the end of the twentieth century. In the follow paper I discuss briefly the role of the public service in Australia and the part they have to play in public policy, particularly with respect to providing quality advice to government. I examine some of the most significant changes which were introduced into to the public service including the significant changes made to the employment arrangements of the department secretaries. I examine the reasons why the changes were made and the perceived benefits which have been obtained. I also examine the potential negative consequences of the changes and the problems that

    Read More

  • Unicameral and Bicameral Legislatures

    2146 Words  | 5 Pages

    For years, countries have had different legislatures bicameral and unicameral. The features of each legislatures are distinct from one another. It even accounts to various vices and virtues. Both legislatures exist in various countries in the world. The reason to which varies in each place. Legislatures are essential for a society to perform politically well. However, the political structure of every nations varies thus, there exist no simple generalization. The structural arrangements of different legislatures are distinct in relation to their number of chambers available. (Danziger, J. N. (1996))

    Read More

  • Traditional Model to New Public Management

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... EVALUATION OF NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REFORMS. International Public Management Review, 34-35. M. Petrescu, e. a. (2010). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.

    Read More

  • Traditional Model to New Public Management

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    This essay discusses the radical transformation of the principles and foundations of public administration from traditional to New Public Management. Firstly the essay will attempt to define the key terms of traditional public administration and the doctrine of New Public Management. Rabin J. (2003) explains that New Public Management embodies “a process in public administration that uses information and experiences obtained in business management and other disciplines to improve efficiency, usefulness and general operation of public services in contemporary bureaucracies.“Traditional Public Administration progresses from governmental contributions, with services perceived by the bureaucracy.

    Read More

More about An Analysis of Governmental Performance in Australia

Open Document