Chapter 2
INDIVIDUAL 2008-09 ANNUAL REPORTS
Reports under the Innovation, Industry, Science
and Research portfolio
Department of Innovation, Industry,
Science and Research (DIISR)
2.1 The
Department's annual report emphasised the report of the 'Cutler Review', Venturous
Australia: Building Strength in Innovation and the Government's response in
Powering Ideas: an Innovation Agenda for the 21st Century. Work
has begun on initiatives arising from these reports, such as reforms to
research funding for universities. DIISR also drew attention to the components
of the stimulus package involving longer-term investment in skills, innovation,
education and infrastructure. Of particular interest to the Committee, given
its 2008 report on space science, was the Department's work to advance
Australia's bid to host the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope.
2.2
The annual report also described the work of IP Australia, which
faced the challenge of reduced revenue but still managed to reduce its
inventory of unprocessed patent applications.
2.3
The report includes compliance indices for both DIISR and IP
Australia but no discussion of external scrutiny, despite DIISR appearing at
Estimates in October 2008 and February 2009 and both DIISR and IP Australia in
June 2009.
Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
2.4
CSIRO's annual report highlights the significant royalties from
their wireless technologies and the commercialisation of their UltraBattery, as
well as scientific progress in areas as diverse as solar cells, growth of
prawns, sequencing the bovine genome and reducing emissions with a new
aluminium production technology. During the year CSIRO published a report on
water availability in the Murray-Darling basin, one of its largest ever
research projects, and provided expertise in responding to the Victorian
bushfires. CSIRO noted the increasing demand for their expertise in areas such
as energy, climate change and water management.
2.5
The annual report includes a compliance index and discusses
CSIRO's accountability to the government but not to the parliament. CSIRO had
appeared at Estimates in October 2008 and February and June 2009.
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
(AIATSIS)
2.6
AIATSIS is a statutory authority whose goal is to be the world's
leading research, collecting and publishing institution in the field of
Australian Indigenous studies. Its annual report highlights its research and
the growing public interest evident in increased sales and hits to its website.
2.7
The committee commends the Institute for including a compliance
index in its report.
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
2.8
ANSTO is a Commonwealth authority. It is a research and
development agency and operates the OPAL reactor. The annual report highlights
that the reactor recovered from the disruptions of the previous year and was
able to resume production of radiopharmaceuticals, both for domestic use and
export.
2.9
The committee commends ANSTO for including a compliance index in
its report.
2.10
As in the previous year, the annual report states that 'there
were no reports on the operations of ANSTO by a Parliamentary Committee or the
Commonwealth Ombudsman during the reporting year.'[1]
However, ANSTO appeared before the committee at Senate
estimates hearings three times during 2008-09.
Australian Institute of Marine
Science (AIMS)
2.11
AIMS is a statutory authority established by the AIMS Act 1972.
Its mission is research to support the sustainable use and protection of the
marine environment.
2.12
Its annual report highlights funding for the Australian Tropical
Oceans Simulator, to be built at its Townsville headquarters, which will extend
its understanding of climate change and ocean acidification. AIMS reports
strong evidence that these factors are responsible for slower growth in coral
reefs. In other work, AIMS recently quantified the value of marine industries
at $38 billion in 2006‑07. Research led by AIMS discovered new species in
the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef.
2.13
The committee commends AIMS for including a compliance index in
its report.
Australian Research Council (ARC)
2.14
The ARC is an independent agency, established under the ARC Act
2001, responsible for managing the National Competitive Grants Program,
implementing the Excellence in Research in Australia (ERA) initiative and
advising the government on research matters.
2.15
Its annual report highlighted funding for over 1,000 research
projects (from over 5,000 proposals) and the establishment of the Centre for
Groundwater Research and Training. The ARC analysed submissions relating to
more than 20,000 journals in preparation for inclusion in the ERA-ranked
journal list. The ARC also released its strategic plan for 2008-09 to 2010-11.
2.16
The Committee commends the ARC for noting in its annual report
its appearances at Estimates and its responses to questions taken on notice.
The ARC also refers in its annual report to the ARC providing witnesses to the
Committee's public hearing for its inquiry into space science and industry. The
Committee also commends ARC for including a compliance index in its report.
Reports under the Resources, Energy and Tourism portfolio
Department of Resources, Energy and
Tourism (DRET)
2.17
Highlights of DRET's year included the launch of the Global
Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, the issue of new petroleum exploration
permits, progress in development of new LNG projects, the release of the
national Energy Security Assessment, initiatives to develop the geothermal
industry and development of a national Long-Term Tourism Strategy.
2.18
DRET's annual report also includes (as Chapter 4) the annual
report of Geoscience Australia, a prescribed agency.[2]
Geoscience conducted its largest single marine geoscience survey, off Western
Australia, and provided spatial information to assist in management of the
Victorian bushfires and their aftermath.
2.19
The Committee commends the Department for the inclusion of a compliance
index. It also commends it for noting the appearances before Senate estimates
of both DRET and Geoscience.[3]
National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA)
2.20
NOPSA is a prescribed agency under the FMA Act. Its annual report
notes that in 2008-09 'the offshore petroleum industry went from a period of
growth to one of consolidation and cost cutting' which posed challenges. NOPSA
is concerned about 'the relatively high level of personal injuries' in the
industry. It highlights one response; the 'Stand Together for Safety' two-hour
stand-down dedicated to health and safety issues. Improvements were also made
to safety training during staff inductions in the industry.
2.21
Of particular interest to the Committee given its December 2008
report on the matter was NOPSA's contribution to investigations of the fire and
explosion at the facilities on Varanus Island.
2.22
The committee commends NOPSA for including a compliance index in
its report and referring to its appearance at the October 2008 estimates
hearing.
2.23
The NOPSA Board also produced its own, very brief, annual report.
Reports under the Treasury portfolio
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
2.24
The ABS refers in its annual report to its additional funding
which facilitated the reinstatement of the full sample for the Labour Force
Survey and the monthly Retail Survey and allows new projects such as an index
of living costs for government benefit recipients, measures of progress in
reforming human service delivery and improved information concerning indigenous
people.
2.25
The annual report includes three special articles, on the role of
a national statistical agency in a global financial crisis; climate change and
official statistics; and the role of official statistics in COAG
information-related initiatives for measuring outcomes.
2.26
The Committee commends the ABS on the inclusion of a compliance
index, and notes that it is prominently placed at the front of the annual
report. However the Committee suggests that in the discussion of external
scrutiny the ABS could have referred to its appearances at Senate estimates in
October 2008 and February and June 2009.
Australian Statistics Advisory
Council (ASAC)
2.27
ASAC advises both the Minister and the Statistician and met three
times during 2008-09. In its annual report ASAC welcomed the increased funding
for the ABS but expressed concern that the 2011 census will have no
innovations.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
2.28
The ACCC is a prescribed agency. It reports jointly with the
Australian Energy Regulator (AER). The ACCC described as the highlight of
2008-09 the introduction of criminal sanctions for cartel conduct. The ACCC
conducted 412 reviews of mergers proposals in 2008-09 with substantial concerns
identified in 16 cases. It also provided strategic advice to the Government on
issues such as national consumer law, water trading, grocery pricing and the
national broadband network. The AER completed its first review of electricity
distribution network revenues and prices.
2.29
The Committee commends the two agencies for including a
compliance index near the front of the annual report. It also notes that the
annual report refers in a few places to submissions to parliamentary committees
and appearances before them, although these are not all readily located from
the index or the table of contents and exclude the ACCC's appearances at Senate
estimates hearings.
2.30
The report states that 'the ACCC/AER is accountable for its
activities through the courts, tribunals, parliament and the Commonwealth
Ombudsman. In 2008-09 the ACCC/AER was not the subject of a report by the
Auditor-General, a parliamentary committee or the Commonwealth Ombudsman.'[4]
The Committee notes that reports on the additional and budget estimates
hearings are tabled in the Senate each year by all Senate committees, and
therefore the ACCC is the subject (albeit not the sole subject) of a report.
Furthermore, other committee reports may reflect upon evidence from the ACCC or
make recommendations concerning them. The Committee therefore believes the ACCC
should provide a fuller discussion of their scrutiny by parliamentary
committees, preferably consolidated into one section of the report.
National Competition Council (NCC)
2.31
The NCC is a statutory authority which advises governments on
third party access regulations. Among matters arising in 2008-09 were the NSW
water infrastructure access regime, railway services for mines in WA and natural
gas pipelines.
2.32
The Committee commends the NCC for including a compliance index
in its annual report.
Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM)
2.33
The AOFM is a prescribed agency responsible for the management of
the government's debt, financial investments and cash balances. Their annual
report opines that the global financial crisis confirms the wisdom of
maintaining a bond market by issuing bonds even when borrowing was not needed
for budget funding. In particular it allowed the government to increase the
volume of issuance quickly in response to changed circumstances.
2.34
Also during 2008-09 the AOFM resumed issuance of treasury notes
and followed a direction of the Treasurer to invest in residential
mortgage-backed securities to support competition in lending for housing in
Australia. The AOFM is consulting with Treasury and the ABS on how to improve
information about the owners, by country, of bonds while minimising any
deterrent effect publishing such information could have on demand for the bonds
which would increase borrowing costs.
2.35
The Committee commends the AOFM for including a compliance index
in its report.
2.36
The AOFM appeared before the committee at Senate estimates
hearings three times during 2008-09. The Committee suggests that references to
such appearances before Senate committees should be included in future reports
as these appearances are an important aspect of external scrutiny of government
agencies.
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
2.37
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the government's
principle revenue collection agency. Its annual report describes 2008-09 as 'a
year of empathy and vigilance' noting the impact of droughts, floods and
bushfires as well as the economic downturn. The ATO was responsible for the tax
bonus payments component of the economic stimulus plan, the biggest single
payment ever made through the tax system.
2.38
The Committee commends the ATO for the structure of its annual report,
which provides both a simple 'at a glance' summary at the start (including
'areas for improvement') and comprehensive details, including both a compliance
index and a separate list covering its reporting requirements specified in 27
Acts and information about interaction with parliamentary committees.[5]
Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT)
2.39
The IGT's annual report describes its completed reports on the
causes and management of objections to Tax Office decisions, the administration
of public binding advice and a review of non-lodgement. It also sets out the
IGT's work programme for 2009-10.
2.40
The Committee commends the IGT for including a compliance index
in its annual report.
Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC)
2.41
The CGC is a statutory authority with the goal of fiscal equalisation
(i.e. providing state governments with the financial capacity to provide
the same range and quality of services to their residents) through allocation
of revenue from the Goods and Services Tax. Its annual report describes its
major achievement for 2008‑09 as preparation of the Report on State Revenue
Sharing Relativities 2009 Update.
2.42
The annual report notes 'the Commission is subject to external
scrutiny by bodies such as Parliamentary Committees...'.[6]
The Committee suggests that the CGC's annual report could be improved by
including a specific compliance index.
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
2.43
The RBA's annual report discusses the impact of the global
economic crisis, which led to the RBA reducing the cash rate six times, by a
total of 425 basis points, and adjusting its financial operations to help
markets continue to function. There were intervention transactions in the
foreign exchange market and the RBA responded to a surge in demand for
banknotes. The government stimulus payments led to an increased volume of
cheques. The RBA was also required to administer the Guarantee Scheme for Large
Deposits and Wholesale Funding. Valuation gains from the weaker Australian
dollar led to an exceptionally large profit.
2.44
The RBA also produces separate annual reports on its equity and
diversity programme and its payment systems board.
2.45
The Committee commends the RBA for consistently tabling its
annual report well before the required deadline and for providing comprehensive
details relating to parliamentary accountability. However, the Committee
suggests that the RBA's report could be improved by including a compliance
index.
Senator Annette Hurley
Chair
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