Chairperson, the Oversight and Accountability Task Team was established to review the need for a co-ordinated approach to Parliament's oversight function and to develop a relevant model for Parliament.
The proposed model aims to enhance Parliament's oversight capacity and bring current practices in line with Parliament's strategic plan. Two critical factors for ensuring the success of the model are the need to integrate Parliament's public participation function within its overall oversight mechanism and the provision of appropriate capacity, especially human resources, to committees and members.
At some point, Parliament should also consider the development of further legislation relating to oversight, which will include committees that are currently regulated by the Rules, as is the case with the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.
The ACDP commends all those who have been involved in this process and supports efforts to ensure that Parliament is relevant, efficient and effective. Thank you.