An effective parliament needs
excellent support services and administration. For the Australian
Parliament, these functions are provided by the Department of
Parliamentary Services (DPS) and the two chamber departments (the
Department of the Senate and the Department of the House of
Representatives).
The body of this report sets out in
considerable detail what services DPS provided in the 2008-09 year,
as well as the numerous projects initiated or completed during that
year. We also detail the level of financial and other resources
needed to deliver those programs.
DPS staff can be justifiably proud
of our achievements, big and small, over the last year, and I
believe that it is best to consider these achievements against the
background of the big picture events that have been unfolding in
and around the Parliament.
On the one hand, 2008-09 was a
normal mid-term year, without significant electoral activity. On
the other hand, 2008-09 was always going to be a busy year for DPS
because of the work rate of a new Government intent on implementing
a large number of pre-election policy commitments. Moreover, from
about July/August 2008, the work of the Government and the
Parliament became much more complicated because of the unfolding
Global Financial Crisis (GFC). It is fair to say
that the GFC has dominated much of the discussion and debate
throughout the reporting year, and will have significant
consequences for Australia, the Parliament and DPS for some years
to come.
Some of the key DPS work groups
supporting Parliament through this busy and turbulent period have
included our Library (providing advice to Senators and Members
about many emerging issues) and Content Management Branch
(providing Hansard and broadcast records of proceedings).
So, how do we measure the
performance of DPS during 2008-09? There are four ways in which we
have done this.
Firstly, we use a large number of
detailed performance indicators. The results are listed in the
Report on Performance section of this report. Generally, the
results are positive.
Secondly, we conduct a customer
satisfaction survey once a Parliament (every three years). The most
recent survey was completed in July 2009. Key respondents to this
survey include Senators, Members and their staff, as well as staff
of the chamber departments and our own staff. In total we had some
559 responses. At the time of writing, the results are still being
fully analysed, but the overall outcomes are generally positive. I
will provide more detail about this survey in the
2009-10 DPS Annual Report.
Thirdly, we have initiated a survey
of our own staff. The survey was conducted by ORIMA Research in the
autumn of 2009. ORIMA has conducted similar surveys of many other
large and small organisations, including numerous agencies within
the Australian Public Service (APS).
Some 554 staff responded to the
survey, which is a 62% response rate. The results provide some
important messages for everybody in DPS. When we measured job
satisfaction and satisfaction with DPS, the results showed we were
very similar to many mid-sized APS agencies. On a very positive
note, our staff generally believe that their jobs allow them to use
their skills, knowledge and abilities. However, the survey also
makes it clear that we can do better in a number of areas,
including communication (upwards, laterally and downwards),
work-life balance, career progression and recognition. Tackling
these issues will need to be an important part of how we do
business from here on.
Fourthly, I identified five key
priorities in the 2007-08 report, and it is pleasing to report good
progress on all of these, as set out below.
- Important projects have included
commissioning and completing the new child care facility (Capital
Hill Early Childhood Centre), upgrading the Staff Dining Room,
providing a new ParlInfo IT system, wireless connectivity for
laptop computers in committee rooms, and a new, user-friendly
intranet for DPS.
- Client focus has been the subject of one of
our forward-looking task groups, which I will return to later. The
DPS 2009 Customer Satisfaction Survey was also completed.
- Climate change actions have included
continuation of our existing energy and water conservation
programs, as well as a large trial planting of couch grass on the
sports field below the Senate entrance. Couch grass uses around
half the water of the previous blend. However, at the time of
writing, we are still assessing whether the winter colour of couch
grass will be suitable for this building. The other major climate
change task has been the completion of a major energy audit. As we
progressively implement the recommendations of this audit, we will
be able to further reduce the carbon footprint of Parliament
House.
- Infrastructure maintenance and modernisation
continued on many fronts, including new door-locks, replacement of
x-ray machines, committee room microphones and vision mixers, as
well as renewal of much irrigation pipe work.
- Service delivery has continued throughout the
year, and has remained within budget. We have also initiated
reviews of key service delivery areas such as internal security and
facilities management. These reviews will assist us to live within
available budgets for future years. I thank all involved staff for
their cooperation.
What then for the future? I consider
it essential that any organisation develops its own ideas about the
future. For DPS, in late 2008 we established five task groups to
think about the future of the Parliament and of DPS, under the
overall banner of Supporting the Future Parliament .
Each task group focused on a
particular aspect of our operations, and developed ideas about how
our business might change over the next 15 to 20 years. In
particular, the task groups separately considered:
- Customer service
- Enhancing productivity
- Environmental performance
- Workforce development
- Renewal and modernisation.
The reports from these task groups
are now being analysed and should allow DPS to develop a new
overall strategic plan, taking into consideration security
considerations and a challenging budget outlook. While nothing is
certain in life (or Parliament), especially about funding levels, I
believe this new plan will assist all in DPS to understand where we
need to go over the next 15 to 20 years.
In the shorter term our operational
budget is under considerable pressure. The work rate of a new
Government has greatly increased the level of parliamentary
activity, including chamber business and committee business. There
is a flow-on increase in DPS operating costs. However the available
operating funds for DPS have changed very little for nine years; in
terms of purchasing capacity our budget has declined significantly
over this period. Without extra funds, we will therefore need to
continue to operate with increasing frugality. This will require a
strong focus from DPS officers at all levels to minimise our
operating costs, including the direct and indirect costs of staff,
as well as the services we purchase externally. Furthermore, while
we will aim to provide good quality services in support of both
Chambers and the committee system, it is inevitable that we will
need to progressively adjust other services around Parliament House
so as to remain within budget.
On a different note, with Parliament
House valued at around $2 billion, sustaining the building and its
infrastructure is the other key DPS responsibility. Our capital
funding for this is enabling a major renewal and improvement
program for the Parliament over the next two years. Major projects
will include: a new Hansard Production System; new Parliament House
web site; digitisation of further Hansard and broadcast records;
and modernisation and expansion of our closed circuit TV systems.
We will also reactivate some of the water features around the
building by collecting rainfall run-off from around the
building.
Over the same two years, we will
also be reviewing and improving our security systems.
Responding to the results of the
recent customer satisfaction and staff satisfaction surveys is a
further key priority for DPS. Results of both surveys suggest the
need to improve communications, and this will be a high
priority.
Before I conclude, I wish to thank
the Speaker of the House, Mr Harry Jenkins MP, and the President of
the Senate, Senator the Hon John Hogg, for their support over the
year. I also thank the chamber departments for their
cooperation.
My final thanks go to the staff of
DPS for a job well done. We publicly recognise the contributions of
our staff in two ways.
Firstly, we continue to recognise
people who have made major contributions to Parliament, DPS and the
broader community, through Australia Day Awards. In total, we
recognised 11 staff in this way in early 2009. My thanks to all of
these officers (see the case study on page 14). Secondly, in
2008-09, responding to a suggestion by a DPS staff member, we also
instituted a system of Long Service Pins. It has been very
gratifying to be able to recognise the contribution of over 300 DPS
staff with 10 or more years service through the award of these
pins.
I look forward to working with DPS
staff to deliver services to the Parliament for the year 2009-10
and beyond.
Alan Thompson