SA Productivity Commission chairman Adrian Tembel urges public sector performance targets

Taking a leaf out of Elon Musk’s efficiency handbook is being recommended in a top-level public sector economic growth strategy for SA. See what that means.

Public sector performance targets with a nod to Elon Musk’s DOGE are being recommended in a top-level strategy for state economic growth.

In a speech on Wednesday, South Australian Productivity Commission chairman Adrian Tembel called for state MPs to be grilled in parliament about public sector measurements and performance.

This would underpin a “fundamental SA economic goal” of a “best government in Australia” policy, driven by an independent review of world-best sub-national governments.

In a speech titled “Does DOGE have any relevance to SA?”, Mr Tembel said there was a “small level of validity” because governments should expect “the public sector to be just as innovative, reformist and generally open to change as we expect our private sector to be”.

He said SA “delivering the best service outcomes in a fiscally responsible way” should be one of two central economic priorities – the other would be to boost skills, research and development.

South Australian Productivity Commission chairman Adrian Tembel. Picture: Matt Loxton

In a speech to the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Mr Tembel said public sector performance targets would include Year 12 completion rates at working-class schools or development approval simplicity and response times.

“This mechanism could be part of a parliamentary reform that requires an annual day or week in parliament, where relevant ministers and opposition members debate specific performance results, and the best-practice policy thinking responses that could lead to future performance improvement,” he said.

“ … The transparency and focus on such key areas of performance would incentivise our public sector to innovate and relentlessly pursue change and improvement.”

An Advertiser online poll in February found 92 per cent of almost 800 respondents backed transparent public key performance indicators for government departments to measure performance.

Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump hosts a cabinet meeting in the cabinet room of the White House on March 24, 2025, in Washington, DC. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

In a separate annual state economic scorecard released on Wednesday by the Institute of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank, SA slipped from the second-best performing state to fourth, because of “the nation’s worst outcomes in energy prices”.

IPA senior fellow Kevin You, releasing research on SA’s renewable energy transition, argued the state was vulnerable to blackouts and other energy security challenges because it lacked baseload power generation.

“South Australia has so much potential with positive business investment and economic growth. However, this will all go to waste if the state remains hamstrung by an energy policy that cannot affordably keep the lights on,” Dr You said.

Mr Tembel will be speaking at the Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA) business summit at Adelaide Oval on May 20.

Originally published as SA Productivity Commission chairman Adrian Tembel urges public sector performance targets