Labor Senators note that the Government:-
-
Has
failed to provide any coherent policy rationale for the establishment of the
Regional Investment Corporation (RIC);
-
Has
offered mixed messages when enunciating the policy objectives for the
establishment of the RIC;
-
Has
failed to undertake a cost-benefit analysis to give confidence that the $28m
cost of establishing and operating the RIC delivers good value for the
Australian taxpayer;
-
Has
deliberately structured the enabling legislation to minimise Parliamentary
scrutiny and/or veto of Ministerial directions (as noted by the Senate Standing
Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills Committee);
-
Has
failed to provide sufficient oversight for the activities of the corporation;
-
Has
failed to properly consider the effectiveness of the size of the board with
regards to the range of expertise requirements and safeguards against political
interference;
-
Has
extended the scope of the Board’s and/or the CEO’s capacity to delegate powers
and functions beyond what is prudent governance;
-
Has
gone to great lengths to establish a Constitutional underpinning (including the
invocation of the External Affairs Power) but has failed to address
well-founded doubt including concerns expressed by the Senate Committee for the
Scrutiny of Bills;
-
Plans
to have new future loans administered by the Commonwealth while existing loans
continue to be administered by the States;
-
Intends
to keep the Ministerial review of the operation of the Act a secret.
Labor Senators believe the Government has neither
established a policy rationale for the establishment of RIC nor justified the
cost. We recommend the Bill be rejected by the Senate on that basis.
At the very least, the Government must address the
governance concerns raised by the Senate Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
and other witnesses including the National Farmers' Federation.
Senator
Glenn Sterle
Deputy
Chair
Senator
Malarndirri McCarthy
Senator
for the Northern Territory
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