The Lies Abbott Tells - Part Nine

The Lie

We’ve established a once-in-a-generation Commission of Audit to re-consider the size, scope and efficiency of government.

[Prime Minister Tony Abbott in his Address To The World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, on 23 January 2014]

The Facts

Commissions of Audit have been used by incoming Coalition governments at a State and Federal level over the past two decades to implement substantial reform of the public sector and government operations....

The National Commission of Audit was established immediately after the election of the Coalition government in 1996. The Commission was charged with the task of reporting to the Government on the finances of the Commonwealth and measures to improve its fiscal position.

The Terms of Reference for the 1996 Commission were substantially similar to those released for the 2013-14 Federal Commission of Audit and included an examination of Federal/State service overlap, cost-saving mechanisms and financial performance targets...

The Final Report of the 1996 Commission of Audit is available here.

[Hawker Britton, October 2013, National Commission of Audit – Past and Present]