Victoria’s public sector riddled with problems: Ombudsman George Brouwer

Date:March 12, 2014 – 3:23PM

The report from Ombudsman George Brouwer, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, details cases of spouses being hired for jobs by their partner, lucrative contracts being awarded to friend’s businesses and accepting gifts from companies doing work for the public sector.

The Ombudsman has conducted a number of investigations into the problem and he says that constant vigilance and attention is required to combat the problem.

“It is worrying that it occurs all too frequently in the Victorian public sector. Also, it can jeopardise the proper expenditure of significant public funds,” Mr Brouwer said.

“Allegations regarding nepotism and favouritism in procurement and recruitment arise frequently in conflict of interest complaints received by my office.”

The report was tabled in parliament on Wednesday. On Tuesday, The Age revealed that Water Minister Peter Walsh had been drawn into controversy surrounding Victoria’s new water agency after his office made a mysterious payment to a consultant 12 months before it chose him to lead the organisation without advertising the job.

The revelation of Mr Walsh’s office’s payment to former Howard government adviser Simon Want, followed an investigation by The Age that found the Office of Living Victoria had split contracts awarded to more than 10 consultants, including former ministerial staff and public servants, in a bid to keep their identities secret and to avoid public tender processes.

In Wednesday’s report, Mr Brouwer said he was also investigating a number of matters relating to conflicts in interest relating to procurement and recruitment.

Mr Brouwer said through his investigation, he found departments and agencies either had inadequate conflict of interest policies or a complete absence of policies, as well as a lack of ongoing training and education for staff.

In one case, a senior employee of a statutory body had also been a director of a private company for 10 years and had contracted the company on behalf of the authority for six years.

Mr Brouwer said the person had personally approved payments to the company totalling several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Non-pecuniary interests, such as personal relationships, remain a common source of conflicts of interest for public officers, particularly those involved in procurement or recruitment activities,” Mr Brouwer said.

In another case, a council officer awarded a contract to a friend’s company and in another, a council officer hired a former work colleague. In that process the officer failed to declare the relationship in the council’s register.

The Ombudsman also highlighted that there was an increased risk of conflicts of interest in rural towns. In one case the manager of a prison accepted an offer from the director of a company he had employed to perform maintenance and construction at the prison for a free asphalt driveway at his home.

The Ombudsman recommended that guidelines for conflicts of interest be reviewed and greater awareness programs for staff considered.

Labor’s scrutiny of government spokesman Martin Pakula said the recent revelations about the Office of Living Victoria were another example of how the Napthine government did not understand the issue.

“The Napthine Government has shown zero interest in dealing with conflict of interest or accountability issues more generally. In fact they’ve made an art form of conflict of interest and jobs for the boys,” Mr Pakula said.

The government has been contacted for comment.