A damning report released today by the Victorian Auditor-General (VAGO) auditing government spending on consultants and contractors revealed a deliberate lack of transparency, widespread failure to demonstrate value for money, systemic management failures and a culture of non-compliance.
The report found:
- Contractor spending is being hidden as Departments are not required to and don't consistently report to the public on how much they spend
- Public transparency could be improved because a 2023 recommendation from VAGO to assess a transparency gap was accepted by the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) and has not been carried out
- There is inconsistent and incomparable reporting across the public sector
- The Departments of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Families, Fairness and House and Justice and Community Safety audited in a "deep dive" could not always show they got value for money from their engagements
- Departments spending money on consultants could not show how the work was used in decision-making
- In the case of labour hire contracts, departments could not always show they had a valid reason to use or extend labour hire nor always show examples of work completed by labour hire workers
- Three major departments could not always show how they actively managed contracts or regularly tracked the supplier's progress against their budget and timeframes
- One department could not demonstrate it actively managed any of the five labour hire engagements VAGO reviewed, nor if it received the intended services in 4 of those cases
- The Department of Premier and Cabinet and the DTF excluded transactions they claimed were 'cabinet-in-confidence' however VAGO found that cabinet protocols did not support the claim
The audit results are a shocking indictment of the Allan Labor Government and its culture of secrecy, disregard for taxpayers' money and incompetence.
With Victoria's debt set to reach nearly $200 billion by 2028-29 and an interest bill of nearly $30 million every single day, this report demonstrates Labor is avoiding public scrutiny of their reckless spending and financial mismanagement.
Shadow Minister for Finance, Bridget Vallence said: "The widespread failure to demonstrate value for money revealed in this audit is not surprising from a government that avoids transparency and treats taxpayer's hard-earned with contempt.
"The Allan Labor Government has mismanaged projects and blown out costs to the tune of $40 billion over the last ten years and avoids scrutiny at all costs.
"This Labor Government is addicted to spending and secrecy. We await the results of the Silver Review, conducted by more consultants, to see whether the government will take that seriously and rein in spending."
