Reports
Actions for Volume Nine 2010 focus on Transport, Planning and Industry
Volume Nine 2010 focus on Transport, Planning and Industry
The report includes comments on his financial audits of NSW Government transport, planning and industry agencies for 2009-10. A key recommendation from the report is that the New South Wales Government identify lessons learnt from the metro experience and ensure that future decision processes are developed to ensure the State never again expends such a large amount of scarce transport funding dollars and valuable time on a project that does not proceed.
Actions for Coal Mining Royalties
Coal Mining Royalties
Department of Industry and Investment cannot assure the people of NSW that all royalties owed are being paid in full. This is because it does not have sufficiently robust systems and processes to identify what is owed and to make sure it is paid.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #208 - released 30 November 2010
Actions for Volume Five 2010 focus on Public Financing Enterprises
Volume Five 2010 focus on Public Financing Enterprises
The report includes comments on NSW Treasury and agencies in the finance and superannuation sectors. The New South Wales public sector superannuation funds’ investments were $42.2 billion at 30 June 2010, up from $38.5 billion in 2009. Investment returns reached 14.5 per cent in 2009-10. This is a significant improvement on the investment returns of up to negative 18.4 per cent at the peak of the global financial crisis in 2008.
Actions for Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Contract
Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Contract
We found that the contract process was satisfactory. Ambulance data show that the performance of CHC is meeting contract requirements with the exception of the availability of the Wollongong helicopter. Ambulance’s ability to transport patients to the right hospital at the right time has improved. However the cost of the new Greater Sydney helicopter contract is three times higher than before.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #206 - released 22 September 2010
Actions for Volume One 2010
Volume One 2010
The report includes comments on his annual audit of entitlements paid to Members of NSW Parliament and financial audits of WorkCover, Justice Health, Waste Recycling Processing Corporation and some other NSW Government agencies.
In his audit the Auditor-General had called for a system to be developed to ensure accrued loyalty/reward benefits are used to reduce Members’ parliamentary business travel expenditure, rather than be forfeited when a Member leaves Parliament. He also called for better controls over the Logistic Support Allocation used for transport, communications, printing, stationery, office supplies and equipment.
Actions for Improving the Performance of Metropolitan Bus Services
Improving the Performance of Metropolitan Bus Services
The 2004 Review of Bus Services in NSW always envisaged that there would be a transition period as the new bus contracts were introduced. NSWTI has developed and implemented the new arrangements, and pursued a range of new initiatives including the network improvement program, strategic corridors and uniform bus fares and concessions. The new contracts provided for a performance management regime to hold operators accountable. But this is still being developed four years after the bus contracts came into effect and it remains unproven as a basis for ensuring value for money from the contracts - each of which guarantees monopoly rights to the operators.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #198 - released 10 March 2010
Actions for Managing Forensic Analysis: Fingerprints and DNA
Managing Forensic Analysis: Fingerprints and DNA
Fingerprints and DNA play a critical role in solving crime and serving justice, but DNA evidence can result in more arrests, more prosecutions and more convictions. We found that while police effectively prioritise fingerprint evidence, it could better manage the screening and analysis of both fingerprint and DNA evidence to reduce delays.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #195 - released 10 February 2010
Actions for Signal failures on the metropolitan rail network
Signal failures on the metropolitan rail network
Between 2004 and 2006, the number of signalling failures, signalling downtime and the number of trains delayed as a result of signal failures all fell. RailCorp’s on-time running performance improved over the same period. The fall in failures is a clear indication of improved performance. Changes in the definition of on-time and to the timetable during 2005 and 2006 however make it difficult to determine whether improvements in response downtime and signalling delays are due to a true performance improvement. To build upon this strong base, RailCorp needs to determine with more confidence the number and duration of signalling failures the network can tolerate without impacting on service levels.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #170 - released 15 August 2007
Actions for Connecting with public transport
Connecting with public transport
We see considerable potential for the Ministry of Transport to plan and manage interchanges more effectively, so as to make better use of our public transport network. We believe that the Ministry now needs to focus more on multi-modal transport planning and interchange performance. It needs to assign responsibility for the coordination and oversight of inter-modal operations to an entity resourced for the purpose. Without this it will continue to be very difficult to identify and address unmet needs, seek and secure stakeholder funding, and monitor and evaluate system performance.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #168 - released 6 June 2007
Actions for Readiness to respond: Follow-up audit
Readiness to respond: Follow-up audit
The Ambulance Service of New South Wales has substantially implemented the 28 recommendations of the 2001 audit report that it accepted. It has also introduced significant new initiatives to improve performance that were not part of the 2001 recommendations. It has made substantial changes to its organisation and operations to implement these changes. Many of the changes are still proceeding. The Service has addressed a key finding of the 2001 audit report - that it did not have adequate, relevant or credible management data for decision making. The Service now has five years of operational data from the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.
Parliamentary reference - Report number #167 - released 6 June 2007