Tuesday, 30 May 2023

Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

Report on the Appointment of a Person to Conduct the Financial Audit of the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office

Mathew HILAKARI (Point Cook) (11:31): I am surprised that those opposite have not been talking about the Report on the Appointment of a Person to Conduct the Financial Audit of the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, because this important paper which has been presented to the Parliament is about who audits the auditors. It is a great question: who audits the auditors in Victoria? Well, I can tell you it is Mr Kenneth Weldin from PKF Melbourne audit and assurance for at least a period of 12 months following the 30 June 2024 Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) report.

I am so pleased to speak on a report which has been delivered in this year and this Parliament. This report was of course delivered this month, in May of 2023, and it was delivered by the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee. I would like to thank the chair of the committee Sarah Connolly, the member for Laverton, for her work; the deputy chair, who always holds us to account, Nicholas McGowan from the other place, North-Eastern Metropolitan Region; Michael Galea of the other place; Acting Speaker Hamer, you get a gig on PAEC as well, and I thank you for your efforts and contributions in this space, always; the member for Yan Yean, my Labor colleague, who sits next to me; Bev McArthur, who has been making waves all across the media recently, from the other place, in Western Victoria; Danny O’Brien, who I am sad not to see in the chamber at the moment, is always a contributor on the committee; and Dr Tim Read is mentioned in this report but has recently left this committee and been replaced by Ellen Sandell, the member for Melbourne. I see the chair of PAEC walk into the chamber right now, and I hope you appreciate the contribution that I am making on this very important report on the Appointment of a Person to Conduct the Financial Audit of the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office. Welcome, member for Laverton.

Of course PAEC has statutory obligations. One of its responsibilities is the appointment of the auditor to conduct these financial audits of the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office. Parliament relies on the important information that the Auditor-General provides, but we need to make sure that the accounts are right in that office. Members here will be very excited – and if anyone is watching at home, I know they will watch the PAEC hearings coming up this Friday – to learn everything we can about the budget that has been presented this year.

The secretariat for PAEC do an amazing job. Dr Caroline Williams, the executive officer, is always there to provide terrific advice and, in these circumstances, help to identify appropriate people to undertake the audit. Dr Krystle Gatt Rapa is the lead analyst, public accounts and audit; and Jacqueline Coleman is our administrative officer. But there are so many other people within the parliamentary staff that do a fantastic job on making sure we get the right information, and then we can present these great findings to the Parliament. I want to thank the previous financial auditor Mr Steven Bradby, also an audit partner at PKF Melbourne, who undertook the role from 2019 to 2023, so up until the end of this financial year. That means that they have done a fantastic job in being reappointed for this role for 12 months under a new auditor from the same company.

There are a number of matters that they must attend to, including meeting the Australian auditing standards and professional reporting guidelines. They must comply with the Audit Act 1994 in Victoria. They must also comply with the relevant compliance obligations of the standing directions of the Minister for Finance from 2018. The auditor will meet with the VAGO staff and the VAGO audit committee to discuss, clarify and ensure that they can resolve any issues or findings in an early and timely manner.

Unfortunately, I am almost running out of time. I would like to speak on this important topic for so much longer than I have the opportunity to, because 5 minutes is really too limited a period of time to talk about the audit of the auditors. Of course this report will be tabled –

James Newbury: Extend his time.

Mathew HILAKARI: Extend time – that is so generous, member for Brighton, across on the other side of the benches. Of course this audit will be tabled on 14 August 2024, but there are a number of points before that time where hurdles must be met. Acting Speaker Hamer, I know you and I will be so excited to read the report on the Auditor-General’s office in the upcoming years. I thank the house.