ABSTRACT
This chapter examines seven major factors that crucially influence the success of a Public Accounts Committee in encouraging the efficiency and effectiveness of the government and acting as a safety mechanism or check on executive power. In doing so, it makes observations particularly relevant to experience in New South Wales (NSW), the leading state in Australia.
The chapter then examines the dynamic of how a Public Accounts Committee oversees financial overseers, such as the Audit Office and the Parliamentary Budget Office in NSW.
Many of the observations draw on the author’s experience as Chair of the NSW PAC since 2011 and as a Member of Parliament since 2007.
