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> Overview
> Cabinet
Office Reform Process
Overview
The Cabinet Office supports the deliberations
and decision-making of the Executive Council,
Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. It drives implementation
of South Australia's Strategic Plan, coordinates
and advises on policy development, and has overarching
responsibility for federal-state relations.
In a practical sense this means that - first
and foremost - our job is to make sure the weekly
meetings of Cabinet operate smoothly by having
the right documentation available to members.
We circulate papers beforehand to ensure that
government ministers can seek advice from their
departments on the implications of proposals
being put forward.
These proposals - called 'submissions' - can
be about introducing new legislation, reallocating
funds or resourcing a new initiative, adopting
a new policy direction (either within the State
or in the context of our relations with the
Australian Government) or similar matters which
warrant high-level consideration.
Cabinet Office has a particular responsibility
to advise the Premier, as Chair of Cabinet,
about the history of submissions coming forward,
agency views on the recommendations in those
submissions, and the pros and cons of each proposal
from a whole-of-government perspective.
Cabinet Office similarly supports meetings
of the Executive Council, which involve the
Governor.
There is a lot of work involved in preparing
submissions for Cabinet, and we play a role,
working closely with other departments and other
parts of DPC to ensure that the submissions
that are presented have been subject to proper
consultation within government and, where appropriate,
with external stakeholders. We also have an
interest in ensuring that the product that reaches
Cabinet is of a high standard and that any lower-level
issues are resolved at the working level if
at all possible. We also look to exercise some
quality control by asking agencies to provide
advice on the implementation of their initiatives.
(This is a new development.)
Cabinet Office is in a position to make links
between different proposals that are emerging
from line agencies, and/or with initiatives
being pursued under the auspices of South Australia's
Strategic Plan. And sometimes we take a lead
on certain issues to help resolve a deadlock
or to help meet a policy 'gap'. Our overriding
goal is to see that the Premier and Cabinet
are presented with good, innovative, workable
ideas about what they can do to help meet their
commitments to South Australia, including the
SA Strategic Plan targets.
Cabinet Office supports the work of Cabinet
Committees as well, including the Executive
Committee of Cabinet (ExComm) which was established
to drive implementation of SA's Strategic Plan
through Government and beyond, into the community.
ExComm is unique in Australia as it is a Cabinet
committee (which the Premier chairs) with two
Independent Advisers - one representing the
State's Economic Development Board, and one
representing the Social Inclusion Board.
The ExComm agenda can range widely but its
core responsibilities include: holding agency
heads accountable for the strategies they pursue
to achieve Plan targets; taking advice from
the Plan's Independent Audit Committee on measurement
and data issues associated with the Plan's targets;
and auspicing a community engagement program
to broaden involvement in the Plan by individuals
and organisations around the State.
A major responsibility within Cabinet Office
is to lead and coordinate work to support South
Australian interests in federal-state forums
- notably the Council of Australian Governments
(COAG) and the Council for the Australian Federation
(CAF). Cabinet Office works closely with the
Department of Treasury and Finance and other
agencies in both developing and responding to
initiatives that require federal-state cooperation.
The COAG agenda is a particularly challenging
one, ranging across health and ageing; housing;
education sand skills; infrastructure; Aboriginal
policy; deregulation; and, last but not least,
climate change and water.
Cabinet Office staff coordinate advice for
the Premier and Cabinet about positions that
we need to adopt in COAG forums in these policy
areas. We're also represented in each of the
national Working Groups which have been set
up to keep momentum going between the quarterly
COAG meetings.
Cabinet Office Reform Process
Midway through 2007, the Cabinet office underwent
a major overhaul. On the recommendations of
the Government Reform Commission, headed by
former Premier Wayne Goss, the Government agreed
to expand the office and equip it with the right
mix of skills to take a more assertive role
in public policy development and coordination
in South Australia. The former Office of the
Executive Committee of Cabinet was merged with
Cabinet Office, and the staffing complement
expanded through secondments from each of the
other government agencies.
After a round of competitive selection processes,
a diverse and talented team, including a new
group of managers, was installed to implement
this new version of a modern, proactive Cabinet
Office. The Office moved quickly to develop
more efficient working practices, including
a new web-based Cabinet commenting system (soon
to be rolled out), improved processes to monitor
implementation of Cabinet decisions, and better
inter agency coordination. We have benefited
from a better integration of SA Strategic Plan
work - with its medium to long term focus -
with the weekly business of Cabinet decision
making. And we have been better able to respond
to the ambitious agenda for COAG.
Luckily we have had strong support throughout
this reform process from the Premier down. We
have also benefited from the insights offered
to us by people like Wayne Goss, Dr Michael
Keating, and Geoff Mulgan. Most importantly,
we have been able to make a positive difference
through the contributions of our great team,
including all our valued secondees from other
government agencies.
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