Parliamentary Administration: Why Does it Matter? Australian and international perspectives on approaches to parliamentary administration

Transcription

1 Parliamentary Administration: Why Does it Matter? Australian and international perspectives on approaches to parliamentary administration Dr June R Verrier, ANU The international debate about parliamentary administration A typology of parliaments The relevance of parliamentary administration Three models Examples and conclusions 1

2 International consensus on a link between the style of a parliament s administration and the quality of its democratic achievement Commonwealth/CPA initiatives: Latimer House Principles the relationship between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary Commonwealth Parliamentary Association /World Bank Institute Study Group Report on Administering and Financing Parliament, 2005, - the need for a parliament s budgetary independence of the executive and the efficient management of that budget. A parliament s role: representation, legislation and scrutiny Pre-requisites: political will appropriate machinery adequate resources This examination of parliamentary administration focuses on the last of these: the resources made available to a parliament and how these are organized, managed and controlled. 2

3 Robinson and Mico s Typology of Parliaments Rubber Stamp Legislatures: (activity restricted to the ceremonial) No machinery or resources for independent scrutiny of the executive Nascent Legislature: (recognition of the need for some support for MPs) A minimum/developing level of staff and resources 3

4 Informed Legislatures: (capacity for scrutiny but qualified by dependence on resources provided by the Executive) quality specialist staff, electronic access and data committees, library and research service with a capacity for analysis and generating alternative approaches Independent Legislatures: (capacity for action completely independent of the assistance of the Executive) budgetary autonomy specialist expertise on staff and committees, in the library and the research service, capable of producing long range projections and interdisciplinary analyses optimum electronic facilities The Relevance of Parliamentary Administration Robinson and Mico s matrix suggests that there is a correlation between the resources made available to a parliament and the quality of the parliamentary democracy which results The CPA has conclude that where power lies to decide what resources a parliament will have, and how those resources are organized, managed and controlled, is directly relevant to the democratic outcome of the parliament in question Issue: as parliaments progress up the Robinson and Mico scale, the style of its administration may remain the same. 4

5 Responsibilities of parliamentary administration include: building grounds and maintenance provision of services such as cleaning, catering and, increasingly, security organisation of travel arrangements for members coming and going to their electorates and for official visits increasingly sophisticated IT services in some cases, the management of MPs parliamentary allowances. As parliaments move up the Robinson and Mico scale, parliamentary administration may come to include: hansard services committee support services parliamentary library research, analysis and advice services community outreach That is, the responsibilities of parliamentary administration grow from the physical aspects of running a major national institution and move into the realm of what kind of parliament this could be on the democratic scale 5

6 Because a link that has been made between the style of a parliament s administration and its potential to be independent of the executive, a case has been made for the parliament itself to be ultimately responsible for its own administration. Three models of parliamentary administration: Organic Commission Corporate Some examples (see organization charts provided) UK Canada New Zealand Australia: actual Australia: ideal 6

7 Parliamentary Governance Key Indicators: budgetary control governance structure transparency control of parliamentary pillars whole-of-parliament perspective Conclusions An independent democratic parliament is more likely to result from adequate resourcing and efficient parliamentary administration An effective parliamentary administration will be characterized by a machinery which gives MPs - the stakeholders - decision making power about the priorities to be set for the use of those resources Parliamentary officials must be constrained by the political and parliamentary system of which they are a part. As key advisers to Presiding Officers, they have a professional responsibility to be familiar with the options for developing parliamentary administration and their implications. 7

8 Questions for participants: Where does your parliament sit on the Robinson and Mico scale? Which model of parliamentary administration looks most like yours? Is there a link between your two answers? 8