Friday 16 September 2022

If the Political System and the Bureaucracy Needs Reform. Who Brings That In?

This Simple.

a) Both the Political System AND the Bureaucracy Need A Drastic Overhaul To Provide Actual Outcomes 

b) Who Brings That In? Simple. The elected Members of Parliament. That's why they're elected. To represent us.

What is the obvious problem? Again SIMPLE.
There appears to be an accepted method of doing business in the political realm & the public service. The priority is activity not outcome. If Yes Minister wasn't a comedy we'd see irony but if there was any irony its that Yes Minister's writers relied very heavily on covert advice from people who were at the time deeply embedded in the UK Bureaucracy. It was so funny because not solely because it was so absurd but because it was based so deeply, accurately on truth.
Good comedy was based on truth. Those who've been involved with Not For Profit groups, landcare groups, community groups who were working regularly with grant applications and government help...Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister & Australia's The Hollowmen, Utopia were often looked upon as very nearly being documentaries.

Activity not Outcomes was the norm. When outcomes happened they were overly lauded as tremendous feats of daring that they were near on among the Wonders of the Modern World.

Now if you want to be shocked & jaw slacked over the codifying  by some of bizarre Yes Ministery as a normal nothing to see here normal event click on this link & listen closely at one Community Sporting group that recieved a sizeable grant but 4 years on still not a single copper coin has hit the project. As a result with the massive rise in costs they will have to revise their plan (if they ever get the grant money) & pair back costs between 25-40%.

Add to that, this grant along with many others were questioned & went through a long review process to check all was Kosher. As I understand it has been determined ok & yet on the Interview between Liam Bartlett on 6PR and federal Labor MP Patrick Gorman, he, Patrick Gorman used the words "rorted payments" and yet we do not know what the actual alleged "rort" is.

Over 100 days over Federal ALP Government & Mr Gorman the responsible Federal Assiistant Minister & the local member for the electorate that club is in. There is now yet another process in place, former government blamed. No outcome outlined "until the budget".

Click here to hear the debacle. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/mornings-with-liam-bartlett-full-show-16-september-2022/id1231321581?i=1000579646821 

Now the problem remains. We need a full wide ranging review & reform of the Public Service and the Political Structure to ensure there is proper due process but efficient service to the public.

It props up more questions, who are the enablers in the non process of "wheels of government?
Is it the MPs or the Bureacrats?

In forming legislation, who is putting bills forward & who is doing the veto edit because it does

Peter - "I just get sick of politicians. They keep telling me how busy they are and not how much they've got done and how its the previous people's fault. When are they going to put a magnifying glass over the bureaucracy and start a wide ranging reform of government departments? I'm not sure who's at fault. Who is it? Who are the enablers, is it the MPs or the Bureaucrats or both? Its obvious Sir Humphrey & Jim Hacker moved to Australia"

Liam Bartlett - "Peter, seriously, how much time do you have to have or take to be able to resolve something like this? When you get the 2 key people and the local member, convene a meeting, sit around a table and say 'Right what needs to be done, what action needs to be taken, what, is there a problem, if so what is it?' how hard is it?"

Peter - " Well um well look over there, at the end of the day, that's a shiny squirrel over there and my pronouns are x, y & z and we'll focus on that to keep you distracted"

The following question caller "Gabriel" said he was involved in the process & there was no more process because the process was done, that Senator Dean Smith had photos taken in front of the club because the project was a done deal & was only awaiting the signature of Barnaby Joyce. That there was no more process. It'd taken 4 years (too long for my mind) because it had been prudent. Senator Jones led and investiagtion into the club to ensure prudence. The club handed the grant over the City of Vincent to ensure prudence, to provide satisfaction to the Department of Infrastructure. He also claimed Senator Smith need to stand up for what he said he committed & alleged Patrick Gorman is a "dead set liar"

What is due process according to Patrick Gorman?
What is due process according to Senator Dean Smith?
What is due process according to the Dept of Infrastructure?
What is the hold up?
Is a political party taking too long or is a political party looking for a political advantage by claiming rorted payments?
What is the rort?

Patrick Gorman is the member for Perth & the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister & he made the comment in the interview that what they're doing on a range of unresolved grants to sporting clubs...but didn't say what they're doing, got done but should be done by the next Budget. 
He also asked why the previous government didn't "push the money out" before the election when it remains unanswered why he hasn't pushed the money out 100+ days since the election. Is it the politicians who push the money out & if so, why has the new Labor government not pushed the money since the election if Mr Gorman is critical it wasn't pushed out by the coalition before the election & then claims he doesn't want to get political.
Club president doesn't know of question marks. Mr Gorman says it must go thru the process but doesn't outline what process is outstanding & unfinished since he came to power or prior to the election. He pointed briefly to the Dept & said they make seek to talk there if & when appropriate but it won't be resoleved until the Budget on the 25th of October.

Its not that the Bureaucracy needs to be cut through or side stepped...THE BUREAUCRACY & ITS PROCESSES NEED A WIDE RANGING REFORM, POSSIBLY A WIDE RANGING ROYAL COMMISSION INTO DEPARTMENTAL PROCESSES IMPEDING EFFCICIENCIES AND SERVICE DELIVERY TO THE PUBLIC.

Repeat the time is now announcing and inquiry because...

THE BUREAUCRACY & ITS PROCESSES NEED A WIDE RANGING REFORM, POSSIBLY A WIDE RANGING ROYAL COMMISSION INTO DEPARTMENTAL PROCESSES IMPEDING EFFCICIENCIES AND SERVICE DELIVERY TO THE PUBLIC.


Mr Gorman's closing comments included "There are projects in my electorate that ahh did not go through due process. I don't want people to recieve that sort of umm rorted payments..."

So here's the biggies...the easy, easy easy reasonable fixes.
Yes, its simple.
If the Federal Government is serious about integrity...Bring on a full & wide ranging inquiry to guide wide ranging reforms to balance due process with effiecient delivery of service & grant money. 

The reforms also have to include full end of year report cards on the Departments & the Ministers with openly accessible to the public in depth metrics on delivery & due diligence milestones missed or made & clearly identify the names of the actuall who are responsible and all who comitted a breach or over reach.

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