The Coalition will make contracts and procurement the theme of the week, as Canberra's bureaucrats front up to politicians in a week of Senate estimates.
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A spokesperson for Liberal senator Jane Hume, the opposition's spokesperson for finance, said the awarding of government contracts and procurement would be in focus, following the referral of the Mobile Black Spot Program for audit.
The Coalition claimed the program targeted Labor electorates at the 2022 election - though Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland claimed funding was based on election commitments - and the Australian National Audit Office launched an inquiry last August to consider whether the program was "effective and consistent" with procurement rules.
The audit office's in-depth probes into government agencies provide insight into the secretive functions of the public service, and can serve as useful fodder for politicians on both sides.
"The Coalition believes more Labor ministers have engaged in decision-making that should be referred to the ANAO," Senator Hume's spokesperson said.
Greens spokesperson for finance and the public sector, Barbara Pocock, will also be digging into contracts, asking questions about the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's contract with Ernst&Young for climate change advice.
![Liberal senator Jane Hume. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Liberal senator Jane Hume. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/143258707/fc179138-6a92-4256-b79c-94550b5d2083.jpg/r0_267_5224_3216_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Guardian last month reported EY had been supporting oil and gas industry lobby efforts while being paid to give advice on the Albanese government's safeguard mechanism.
Senator Pocock will also have questions about APS leaders and their performance, after last year's revelations that former senior public servant, Kathryn Campbell, was parachuted into her $900,000 salary Defence role.
"There's just this continuing need to focus on reshaping equality public sector, and that's where a lot of my attention will focus this week," she said.
"Going to those core issues of value for money, eliminating conflicts of interest, and making sure our leadership is delivering in the public interest."
Senior Defence officials are likely to face questions over the department's capability and their relationship with ministers, after reports of tension between Richard Marles, his department secretary, Greg Moriarty, and Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell.
Home Affairs bosses will be asked for information on advice given to Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles over the High Court's NZYQ ruling last year. The ruling determined it was unlawful to hold a person indefinitely in immigration detention, when there was no prospect of removing them from Australia in the foreseeable future.
It forced the government to release more than 140 people, some of whom have been convicted of crimes and served their prison sentences before being detained.
Greens senator Janet Rice, the party's spokesperson for government services, says she will come prepared with questions for Services Australia about its performance. "We discovered in estimates last year that claim times and call wait times had completely blown out," she said.
"These failures of the system aren't a mere inconvenience for people on Centrelink; they are causing great suffering."
The average call wait times for customers was 31 minutes in August 2023, up from 20 minutes in March. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten announced 3000 additional Services Australia staff in November. The Coalition, too, will be asking about the impacts of the staffing increase.
Labor senator Deborah O'Neill said estimates would "continue to provide a forum for the government to showcase its commitment to reform and delivering real outcomes for the Australian people".