Tesi sul tema "Government accountability – australia"

During the late 1980s, government agencies in many countries commenced the implementation of public sector management reforms in an effort to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Many of these reforms arose as a result of demands placed on governments for improved use of public funds. These reforms, which have been wide ranging, have involved important improvements in the methods in which public sector agencies collect and report information related to accountability, particularly in the area of performance measurement. This study seeks to add to the literature on public sector accountability and performance measurement by undertaking a comparative cross-country study involving Australia and Malaysia, a developed and a developing country. Each of these countries have adopted, in varying degrees, reforms to their public sector reporting mechanisms as a result of major demands for changes to public sector funding, accountability and reporting methods. Within the study, a multiple theory approach is undertaken which uses aspects of both agency theory and institutional theory to provide a more informed understanding of the impact specific influential parties have on the level of disclosure and dissemination of accountability related information. This study examines the impact of agency and institutional related variables on the extent and frequency of the disclosure and dissemination of performance measurement information by Australian and Malaysian government departments.The major sources of data for this study comprise firstly, an analysis of the 2003/2004 annual reports of Australian and Malaysian government departments, secondly semi-structured interviews with senior finance officers of selected government departments and thirdly, a questionnaire survey forwarded to senior finance officers of all government departments in Australia and Malaysia. The findings of the content analysis and interviews concerning performance indicator disclosure by Australian Federal government departments show that cost and effectiveness performance indicators are the most disclosed indicator. For Malaysian Federal government departments, results and quantity performance indicators are the most disclosed indicators. For Australia, performance dissemination happens most often on a monthly basis whilst for Malaysia this occurs more regularly on an annual basis. In relation to performance indicator dissemination, Australian government departments are making increased use of the web to disseminate performance indicators whilst the main method of dissemination for Malaysia is their availability upon request. The major questionnaire was prepared using the annual report content analysis and interviews as a base and it was sent to the senior financer officers of all Australian and Malaysian Government Departments. The questionnaire resulted in a 37.1% response rate for Australia and a 21.7% response rate for Malaysian departments. The questionnaire was used as the base to test the influence of agency theory-related variables and institutional theory-related variables and culture on performance indicator disclosure and dissemination.The results of the agency theory-related variables rejected the hypothesised influence of oversight bodies on performance indicator disclosure and dissemination for both Australian and Malaysian government departments. The relevant size of government departments was also rejected as being an influence on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure by both countries. However, for Australian government departments, a significant influence for frequency of size of government departments of performance indicator dissemination was found to exist. The citizenry was found to have no significant influence on performance indicator disclosure by both countries. However, in the case of Malaysia, the citizenry were found to have an influence on the level of performance indicator dissemination. The results of the institutional theory related variables provided evidence that none of the variables have an influence on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination in both countries. Finally, the results for culture showed there is a level of influence of culture on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination. Overall the results of this study indicate both some differences and similarities between Australia and Malaysia government departments in the disclosure and dissemination of performance indicators. There is evidence in this study to indicate that in Australia, both efficiency and effectiveness performance indicators are being disclosed more often in the annual reports of government departments. However, the results for Malaysia show a considerably lower level of disclosure of efficiency and effectiveness performance indicators in government departments' annual reports than in Australia.Therefore the contrasts between the mail survey results and interview results provide for some future research that could expand the interview survey to include a larger sample to see if the Sofas perceptions are the same or different in regards to performance indicator disclosure and dissemination. The dual paradigm (agency and institutional) modeling of the determinants of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination have provided important findings from the perspectives of both the variables and the countries on which this study was based. The important findings of this study are that accountability and managerially have had differing emphases in Australia as compared to Malaysia, and that there are varying levels of disclosure, dissemination and use of performance measurement information between both individual government departments and the countries in which they reside. A range of future research possibilities are generated by this study. These possibilities range from extending the context of the hypotheses to encompass other government entities, other countries and other forms of performance measurement.

During the late 1980s, government agencies in many countries commenced the implementation of public sector management reforms in an effort to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Many of these reforms arose as a result of demands placed on governments for improved use of public funds. These reforms, which have been wide ranging, have involved important improvements in the methods in which public sector agencies collect and report information related to accountability, particularly in the area of performance measurement. This study seeks to add to the literature on public sector accountability and performance measurement by undertaking a comparative cross-country study involving Australia and Malaysia, a developed and a developing country. Each of these countries have adopted, in varying degrees, reforms to their public sector reporting mechanisms as a result of major demands for changes to public sector funding, accountability and reporting methods. Within the study, a multiple theory approach is undertaken which uses aspects of both agency theory and institutional theory to provide a more informed understanding of the impact specific influential parties have on the level of disclosure and dissemination of accountability related information. This study examines the impact of agency and institutional related variables on the extent and frequency of the disclosure and dissemination of performance measurement information by Australian and Malaysian government departments.
The major sources of data for this study comprise firstly, an analysis of the 2003/2004 annual reports of Australian and Malaysian government departments, secondly semi-structured interviews with senior finance officers of selected government departments and thirdly, a questionnaire survey forwarded to senior finance officers of all government departments in Australia and Malaysia. The findings of the content analysis and interviews concerning performance indicator disclosure by Australian Federal government departments show that cost and effectiveness performance indicators are the most disclosed indicator. For Malaysian Federal government departments, results and quantity performance indicators are the most disclosed indicators. For Australia, performance dissemination happens most often on a monthly basis whilst for Malaysia this occurs more regularly on an annual basis. In relation to performance indicator dissemination, Australian government departments are making increased use of the web to disseminate performance indicators whilst the main method of dissemination for Malaysia is their availability upon request. The major questionnaire was prepared using the annual report content analysis and interviews as a base and it was sent to the senior financer officers of all Australian and Malaysian Government Departments. The questionnaire resulted in a 37.1% response rate for Australia and a 21.7% response rate for Malaysian departments. The questionnaire was used as the base to test the influence of agency theory-related variables and institutional theory-related variables and culture on performance indicator disclosure and dissemination.
The results of the agency theory-related variables rejected the hypothesised influence of oversight bodies on performance indicator disclosure and dissemination for both Australian and Malaysian government departments. The relevant size of government departments was also rejected as being an influence on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure by both countries. However, for Australian government departments, a significant influence for frequency of size of government departments of performance indicator dissemination was found to exist. The citizenry was found to have no significant influence on performance indicator disclosure by both countries. However, in the case of Malaysia, the citizenry were found to have an influence on the level of performance indicator dissemination. The results of the institutional theory related variables provided evidence that none of the variables have an influence on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination in both countries. Finally, the results for culture showed there is a level of influence of culture on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination. Overall the results of this study indicate both some differences and similarities between Australia and Malaysia government departments in the disclosure and dissemination of performance indicators. There is evidence in this study to indicate that in Australia, both efficiency and effectiveness performance indicators are being disclosed more often in the annual reports of government departments. However, the results for Malaysia show a considerably lower level of disclosure of efficiency and effectiveness performance indicators in government departments' annual reports than in Australia.
Therefore the contrasts between the mail survey results and interview results provide for some future research that could expand the interview survey to include a larger sample to see if the Sofas perceptions are the same or different in regards to performance indicator disclosure and dissemination. The dual paradigm (agency and institutional) modeling of the determinants of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination have provided important findings from the perspectives of both the variables and the countries on which this study was based. The important findings of this study are that accountability and managerially have had differing emphases in Australia as compared to Malaysia, and that there are varying levels of disclosure, dissemination and use of performance measurement information between both individual government departments and the countries in which they reside. A range of future research possibilities are generated by this study. These possibilities range from extending the context of the hypotheses to encompass other government entities, other countries and other forms of performance measurement.

This thesis investigated the power of framing practices in the context of Australian refugee policies between 1999 and 2003. The analysis identified legal rationalism as an ideological projection by which the Howard government justified its refugee policies to the electorate. That is, legal rationalism manifested itself as an overriding concern with the rules and procedures of the law, without necessarily having concern for consistency or continuity. In its first form, legal rationalism emerged as a

Public policies are, at once, the means for articulation of political philosophies and processes, the conduits for conversion of political and bureaucratic decisions into actions and the means by which the electorate can assess government performance. Public policy processes offer a means of achieving social and economic change and they are a primary justification for the existence of governmental systems. On these counts, identification of the elements of policy processes and the ways they interact with each other is essential to an understanding of the relationships between public policy decisions, systems of democratic government and their connections with wider society. This thesis goes behind the facade of public policy outcomes and analyses the processes involved in arriving at policy decisions. Linkages are traced between political theories, the processes of public policy decisions and final policy outcomes. This involves, first, an examination and critique of liberal-democratic theories. Second, there is detailed examination of pluralist democratic practice, which is the prevailing political paradigm of modern western liberal-democratic societies. The analysis finds substantial evidence of gross distortions in the process relative to normative theories. Plain causes are the institutionalisation of special interests to the exclusion of wider public interests and inadequate accountability of governments and bureaucracies for their actions. Policy processes in pluralist systems are examined and it is concluded that the social environment, institutional influences and factors which affect the behaviour of institutions are key elements explaining public policy decisions. The capacity for pluralism to significantly influence policy outcomes depends largely on the degree and nature of access to the public policy process at various points. In examining the role of government institutions in public policy processes, it is argued that a clear distinction between the elected legislature and the administrative bureaucracy is artificial and misleading. Further, there is evidence that public service bureaucrats can become captives of their particular client groups and, thus, less accessible to the full range of relevant interests. These problems are exacerbated by the two-party Westminster model of representative democracy which tends to concentrate power in cabinet government, resulting in a decline in the importance of parliament as a deliberative and scrutinising bodies. This dissertation develops the view that there are significant causal links between institutional philosophies and values and the dominant disciplines within institutions. It is also argued that growing professionalism in bureaucracies and a tendency for functional divisions of public policy to be in broad symmetry with the divisions of the professions, tends to intensify the influence of particular professional disciplines on related areas of public policy. The critique of liberal-democratic theories and the related discussion of factors affecting policy processes in a pluralist system are used to identify the essential elements of public policy processes. It is proposed that all policy processes contain the four elements of pluralism, access, accountability and planning which are interactively related. Differences in emphasis given to these elements in the policy process explains the nature of individual policy decisions. Thus, the normative policy process datum model provides both a static and dynamic framework for analysing policy decisions. In order to examine the theoretical arguments in an empirical context, the policy processes of the Australian Federal Government, in the area of industry assistance, are analysed. This policy arena contains all the 'raw material' of pluralist processes and is, therefore, a fertile area for analysis. Furthermore, operating within this policy arena is the Industries Assistance Commission [IAC], a bureaucratic institution which is quite unlike traditional administrative structures. The IAC has, prima-facie, all of the features of the policy process datum model; it operates in an open mode, it encourages a range of pluralistic inputs, it has a highly professional planning function and, because its policy advice is published, it encourages scrutiny and accountability of itself, other actors in the bureaucracy and the elected government. The IAC operates in a rational-comprehensive mode. The analysis concludes that the IAC was established in part to be a countervailing force to restore some balance in the industry policy arena. In this it has been partly successful - the distributive policy decisions of governments have come under much greater scrutiny than in the past and other areas of the bureaucracy have been forced to operate more frequently in a rational-comprehensive mode, rather than as advocates of sectional interests. The IAC has itself limited its range of objectives, however, and has tended to become a computational organisation, isolating its core economic [planning] technology from the interactive processes of the policy process model, i.e. pluralism, access and accountability. By protecting its essential philosophy in this way, the IAC runs the risk of becoming less influential in the overall policy process. Using the policy process model as a datum, and the empirical experience of the IAC and the policy arena in which it operates, several options for administrative reform are examined. A summary agenda for administrative change is proposed which revolves around ways of achieving balanced pluralistic inputs, a greater degree of access, better bureaucratic and government accountability and ways of exploiting but controlling technocratic planning expertise. Emphasis is placed on the need to achieve enriched interactive flows between each of these key elements. If these conditions can be met, it is proposed that a revised and improved administrative bureaucracy will emerge.

In an era of acute concern about airline safety, bird strikes are still one of the major hazards to aviation worldwide. The severity of the problem is such that it is mandatory in all developed countries to include bird management as part of airport safety management programs. In Australia, there are approximately 500 bird aircraft strikes per year (Bailey 2000). Brisbane airport has a relatively high occurrence of strikes, with an average of 77 recorded every year (2002-2004). Given the severity of the problem, a variety of techniques have been employed by airports to reduce bird strikes. Scare devices, repellents, continuous patrols for bird hazing, use of raptors to clear airspace of birds and depredation are used by many airports. Even given the diversity of control methods available, it is accepted that habitat management is the most effective long term way to control birds in and around the airport space. Experimental studies have shown that habitat manipulation and active scaring measures (shooting, scaring etc), can reduce bird numbers to an acceptable level. The current study investigated bird populations in six major vegetation habitat types identified within the operational and surrounding areas of Brisbane airport. In order to determine areas where greater bird control and management should be focused, bird abundance, distribution, and activity were recorded and habitats that pose the greatest bird strike risk to aircraft were identified. Secondly, species with high hazard potential were identified and ranked according to their hazard potential to aircraft. This study also investigated the effectiveness of different vegetation management options to reduce bird species abundance within operational areas of Brisbane airport. Four different management options were compared. Each management option was assessed for grass structural complexity and potential food resources available to hazardous bird species. Analysis of recorded data showed that of the habitats compared within the Brisbane airport boundaries, grasslands surrounding runways, taxiways and aprons possess the greatest richness and abundance of bird species that pose the greatest potential hazard to aircraft. Ibis and the Australian kestrel were identified as the bird species that pose the greatest risk to aircraft at Brisbane airport, and both were found in greatest numbers within the managed grasslands surrounding operational areas at the airport. An improved reporting process that allows correct identification of all individual bird species involved in bird strikes will not only increase the accuracy of risk assessments, but will also allow implementation of more effective control strategies at Brisbane airport. Compared with current grassland management practice, a vegetation management option of maintaining grass height at 30-50cm reduced total bird utilisation by 89% while utilisation of grassland by potentially hazardous birds was also reduced by 85%. Maintaining grass height within the 30-50cm range also resulted in a 45% reduction in the number of manipulations required per year (11 to 6), when compared with current management practices, and a 64% reduction in annual maintenance cost per hectare. When extrapolated to the entire maintained grass area at Brisbane airport, this resulted in a saving of over $60 000 annually. Optimisation of potential hazard reduction will rely on future studies that investigate the effect of particular vegetation species that could replace the existing mix of grasses used at Brisbane airport and an understanding of the relative importance of vegetation structure and food supply in determining utilisation by potentially hazardous bird species.

In an era of acute concern about airline safety, bird strikes are still one of the major hazards to aviation worldwide. The severity of the problem is such that it is mandatory in all developed countries to include bird management as part of airport safety management programs. In Australia, there are approximately 500 bird aircraft strikes per year (Bailey 2000). Brisbane airport has a relatively high occurrence of strikes, with an average of 77 recorded every year (2002-2004). Given the severity of the problem, a variety of techniques have been employed by airports to reduce bird strikes. Scare devices, repellents, continuous patrols for bird hazing, use of raptors to clear airspace of birds and depredation are used by many airports. Even given the diversity of control methods available, it is accepted that habitat management is the most effective long term way to control birds in and around the airport space. Experimental studies have shown that habitat manipulation and active scaring measures (shooting, scaring etc), can reduce bird numbers to an acceptable level. The current study investigated bird populations in six major vegetation habitat types identified within the operational and surrounding areas of Brisbane airport. In order to determine areas where greater bird control and management should be focused, bird abundance, distribution, and activity were recorded and habitats that pose the greatest bird strike risk to aircraft were identified. Secondly, species with high hazard potential were identified and ranked according to their hazard potential to aircraft. This study also investigated the effectiveness of different vegetation management options to reduce bird species abundance within operational areas of Brisbane airport. Four different management options were compared. Each management option was assessed for grass structural complexity and potential food resources available to hazardous bird species. Analysis of recorded data showed that of the habitats compared within the Brisbane airport boundaries, grasslands surrounding runways, taxiways and aprons possess the greatest richness and abundance of bird species that pose the greatest potential hazard to aircraft. Ibis and the Australian kestrel were identified as the bird species that pose the greatest risk to aircraft at Brisbane airport, and both were found in greatest numbers within the managed grasslands surrounding operational areas at the airport. An improved reporting process that allows correct identification of all individual bird species involved in bird strikes will not only increase the accuracy of risk assessments, but will also allow implementation of more effective control strategies at Brisbane airport. Compared with current grassland management practice, a vegetation management option of maintaining grass height at 30-50cm reduced total bird utilisation by 89% while utilisation of grassland by potentially hazardous birds was also reduced by 85%. Maintaining grass height within the 30-50cm range also resulted in a 45% reduction in the number of manipulations required per year (11 to 6), when compared with current management practices, and a 64% reduction in annual maintenance cost per hectare. When extrapolated to the entire maintained grass area at Brisbane airport, this resulted in a saving of over $60 000 annually. Optimisation of potential hazard reduction will rely on future studies that investigate the effect of particular vegetation species that could replace the existing mix of grasses used at Brisbane airport and an understanding of the relative importance of vegetation structure and food supply in determining utilisation by potentially hazardous bird species.

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

In Australia, there have been limited formal government responses to social dimensions of sustainable development, evidenced by the increasing vulnerability of communities to adverse social impacts, such as socio-economic disadvantage; the weakening of community and democratic values; and public apathy and distrust of political processes. Social problems are compounded by lack of social services, social infrastructure and public transport. Legitimacy, accountability and participation as pivotal governance domains for transforming social processes towards sustainable development can be obscured in local governance. This research examines the extent of commitment to and accountability for social sustainability in Australian local government and factors that affect its incorporation in practice. Guidelines for improving social sustainability practice are also formulated. A mixed methods approach was employed, combining a survey of local councils across Australia with in-depth interviews. Survey and interview participants comprised the functional management personnel of Australian local councils, including directors, managers and officers working in various social, community, economic, environmental and policy roles. A conceptual framework for social sustainability, designed for empirical testing in the local government setting, was used as a definitional basis for the research. The framework comprises four components: engaged governance, social capital, social infrastructure, and social justice and equity. Phronetic organisational research (phronesis) provides an analytical perspective for the research and involved an examination of discourse in relation to rationality and power relations. The research employed descriptive statistical, thematic and phronetic interpretive methods of data analysis. The findings of the research reveal that social sustainability is part of a contested field of discursive governance in local government, in which a discourse of economic primacy and a discourse of elected representation are dominant. The nature of this discursive governance is identified as the main factor affecting social sustainability practice in local government. Deficits of engaged governance and accountability for social sustainability were revealed that are consistent with councils operating under efficiency models of local government. The dominant discourses seek to reduce local governance to technical decision making and obscure underlying value-based judgments. Where the will of council officers is to prioritise and incorporate social sustainability, it is constrained within the framework of discursive governance. The nature of the discursive governance identified is interrogated using the value-rational questions of phronesis in the context of relevant contemporary literature. A power nexus is said to exist comprising elected officials, council executives, developers and other stakeholders who are positioned in the economic and representation discourses. The discursive governance leads to gains for the power nexus and losses for other community stakeholders. Recommendations are proposed that council officers can use to resist and contest the field of discursive governance to improve social sustainability practice. This research offers an original contribution to sustainability, management and governance literature through its use of mixed methods and phronetic interpretive analysis in the local government context. Future research is suggested to deepen understandings of the nature of the discursive governance and the power nexus in local government, and ways for them to be challenged.

In Australia, grave doubts have been raised about the ability of the annual fmancial reports of Commonwealth statutory authorities to provide adequate financial accountability to Parliament and other interested parties. The issue is particularly important since these authorities and similar bodies are often used as instruments of government's welfare and economic policies, and have a significant impact upon the economy in distributive as well as allocative terms. This thesis examines issues surrounding the setting of minimum accounting and financial reporting standards as a contribution to solving these problems. A conceptual approach to standard setting is offered which stresses that the information systems which are the subject of these standards have a positive role to play in accountability for management performance as well as the establishment of legal and fiscal compliance. It is suggested that an objective of such regulation is information control as well as absolute prescription. The accountant's information choice problem is addressed through the vehicle of choice from among available capital maintenance and cost measurement concepts. The analysis suggests appropriate measurement and reporting objectives, explores public sector financial accountability structures and develops an accountability spectrum as a means of associating measurement models with categories of economic purpose given to statutory authorities. An empirical study provides a data bank of operating and enivronmental characteristics relevant to such standard setting, and explores the feasibility of a categorisation that is specific to this purpose and less subjective than those so far offered. In conclusion, several recommendations for the process of developing such standards are derived from the analysis.

"The audit process of the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) has inherent limitations and weaknesses that need to be addressed in order to keep pace with the development of the SAV. This could be realized if a strategy to change the audit process of the SAV is conducted. The research aims to improve the SAV to meet international auditing standards of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), using the Australian Government audit process as a direct comparison in order to identify issues in the change management processes required for the SAV to introduce Australian Government audit processes and to propose a methodology to resolve these issues. The change management processes are thus the key focus of the research. The evaluative framework was based on the literature, identifying three major issues of concern. They are technology, costs and people. The research design is a combination of document review and semi-structured in-depth individual interview methods. The document review includes analysis of relevant auditing processes, standards, methods, procedures and reports, and policies; and review of change management theories, models and practices. The goal of the document review is to obtain an overall picture of the research topic that informed the in-depth interviews. Semi-structured in-depth individual interviews were selected as the major research methodology because it is able to provide a considerable amount of detailed data and a deeper understanding of the research problem. The research methodology involved the analysis of the interview transcripts using Thematic Content Analysis (TCA). This mutual relationship between the interviews and the document reviews was discussed further in the data synthesis and analysis. In the study, 30 individual interviews were conducted for two groups of stakeholders (auditors and managers of the SAV) at the headquarters of the SAV in Hanoi City, the capital of Vietnam. The research findings indicated agreement over previous attempts by the literature review. These findings suggested that the change management process may face various issues arising from personal barriers to the change, the SAV culture, application of technology to auditing, costs for the change, the SAV auditor human resource quality and training, and the SAV organizational and operational model. The proposed strategic framework to resolve these issues addressed removing personal barriers to the change, improving infrastructure, human resource, training and legal framework of the SAV, and implementing changes in the SAV culture. The research outcomes might be applied to the SAV. These outcomes will assist the SAV in developing an effective audit process complying with international auditing standards and principles in order to ensure transparency and effectiveness of public sector expenditure."--Abstract.

The purpose of this thesis has been to identify and analyse: the role of audit committees, the attributes of audit committee members, and the functions and activities that they perform in government-funded public sector organisations, focusing on Victorian government organisations. This research determined how audit committees interact with their major stakeholder partners, namely management, internal audit and external audit. The research also identified the characteristics of audit committees that contribute to their successful performance and their sustainability within a governance and assurance framework.

Climate change response is a social contract that requires collective action and can be enhanced through human agency. Management research is needed to examine how institutions at various levels are accountable for climate change and to consider the social and behavioural contexts relevant to the institutions’ engagement with the community. Community climate change response is also an under-researched phenomenon, particular into how the social dimensions of climate actions coalesce with an institutional response. Community collective climate action has been conceptualised as the collective effort between citizens and local government. This multilevel mixed methods research explored public accountability at the local government level and collective climate actions, through a social-psychological lens, at an individual level. A case study of six local governments in Victoria, Australia was undertaken, where council interview transcripts and documents were examined via discourse analysis. Results from the analysis suggest that accountability mechanisms include community demands, hierarchical chain of command, and embedding climate change response within the council and the political interests of its leaders. In the second study, 603 Victorian citizens participated in a survey that focused on how psychological adaptation, social norms, collective efficacy, and procedural justice contribute to collective climate action tendencies. Results of a structural equation model indicated a positive psychological appraisal of climate change influenced the degree to which an individual engages in collective actions, but the magnitude of this relationship depends on the degree to which the individual believes the group can act. Procedural justice had a dampening effect on this positive relationship. The results of these two studies were then synthesised and conceptually integrated in a joint display. Community collective climate actions encompass systems, processes, and behaviours at multiple levels and require incentives that promote self-interest, as well as the collective good. People need to see the benefits of their contributions to the collective good, as this awareness of the benefits of their contribution enhances efficacy and builds a sense of agency. Community response to climate change has an important and complementary role, and insights from public accountability and psychology can contribute to a nuanced understanding of this phenomenon in the Australian context.

The National Waste Policy Implementation Plan advocates the outsourcing of waste management services by contemplating ‘multi-agency management arrangements’ and ‘active partnerships’ between governments and industry (EPHC 2010a, p. 9). The Tasmanian Waste Strategy reinforces the national outsourcing approach by recommending that local government authorities (LGAs) engage in initiatives such as ‘collaborative partnerships’ with industry (Environmental Protection Authority 2009, pp. 3 & 9). The outsourcing of waste management services by LGAs to external service providers introduces another layer of accountability, resulting in the flow of waste data across organisational and geographical boundaries, which leads to a more complex reporting environment (Ball, Broadbent & Jarvis 2006). This thesis investigates whether the expectations of the federal Australian government with respect to the provision and dissemination of data through the outsourcing of municipal solid waste (MSW) are being fulfilled by posing the question: Are the accountability expectations of the Australian federal government satisfied in the outsourcing of waste management services by LGAs? This study broadly follows the institutional collective action (ICA) framework’s (Feiock 2013) approach to explore the Australian federal government’s accountability expectations, due to the collective action required by multiple LGAs and their service providers in different jurisdictions to provide national waste data (Bel, Fageda & Mur 2014). A multi-method approach combining textual narrative analysis of documents, archival records and direct observation supplemented by semi-structured interviews is followed (Yin 2014). The study found that managers of LGAs and their service providers are only willing to supply waste data through an accountability relationship with higher levels of government based on compliance with minimum legal requirements. The lack of adequate waste data collection tools constrains the collection of outsourced waste data, whilst the collaborative outsourcing practices of LGAs in Tasmania’s Southern Waste Strategy Authority (SWSA) jurisdiction resulted in some complex forms of multi-agency arrangements and partnerships. In the absence of improved communication and consultation between all principals and agents, the accountability expectations of the Australian federal government for improved waste data collection systems will not be met.

This thesis examines environmental performance auditing and reputational risk in the public sector, through a study of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). Previous studies in the performance auditing literature and the environmental auditing literature have not examined the process which links audits to reputational risk for auditees. In addressing that gap, this thesis also investigates the ANAO's back-stage processes for performance auditing which are not well-documented in the public domain. Using the theoretical framework of framing (Goffman, 1974) and overflows (Callon, 1998), this thesis initially examines how environmental performance auditing is framed or understood by auditors and their various audiences. It uses five frames identified from the environmental auditing and performance auditing literature, namely an assistance frame, an improvement frame, a public interest frame, a risk management frame and a political frame. The thesis then investigates how framing disputes (overflows) generate reputational risk to government, particularly through public debate involving the media and political opposition. Finally the thesis reviews how reputational risk is managed by bureaucrats and government members of Parliament. This thesis studies general performance auditing processes within the ANAO and specifically examines the ANAO's performance audits of the Home Insulation Program (HIP) and the Green Loans Program. It analyses documents prepared by: the ANAO, including audit reports, better practice guides, annual reports, annual work programs and speeches by senior managers; Parliament, including the Hansard and reports of Parliamentary committees; and the media. It also employs semi-structured interviews with representatives from the ANAO, audited agencies, the media and the Parliament, including the Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA). This thesis renders several significant conclusions. First, the roles performed by performance auditors are more fluid and complex than the structuralist classifications employed in ealier studies (Pollitt, 2003). Fluidity of auditors' roles and compatability between frames allows auditors to relate to different audiences through different frames. Second, the frame(s) emphasised by the Opposition and media underscore their role in a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The alternative accounts of an audit produced by the Opposition and the media provide important counter-perspectives to the audit report prepared by auditors. Third, the ANAO's performance audits manage reputational risk to the government by proactively auditing progams which have been identified as carrying risks to service delivery. The iterative and transparent nature of the ANAO's relationship with audited agencies enables agencies to correct issues before the final audit report is released and this effectively diminishes reputational risk to government. Fourth, the ANAO's performance auditing framework evolves through historical decisions made by the Auditor-General. Those decisions become codified in the ANAO's documents and are subsequently used to train new auditors and shape their understanding of performance auditing. Finally, many performance audits are ignored by the general public, media and Parliament because they fail to address contentious issues. However, this may not trouble the ANAO since it is primarily concerned with improving performance in the public sector.