Editor’s view: Endless government tinkering has made youth crime worse

Queensland’s Auditor-General Brendan Worrall has been warning the Labor government for years about its habit of chopping and changing state departments without thinking things through.

Queensland’s Auditor-General Brendan Worrall has been warning the Labor government for years about its habit of chopping and changing state departments without thinking things through.

It’s a habit that, according to Mr Worrall, is hindering the state’s efforts to control youth crime.

Mr Worrall, who finishes his seven-year appointment as Queensland’s public spending watchdog next week, highlighted the issue in his latest and final report to parliament – a scathing assessment of the government’s youth crime failures.

Part of the problem, according to Mr Worrall, is that responsibility for youth justice has moved between departments five times in seven years. He argues this constant restructuring, not just in youth justice, but across government – more formally referred to as machinery of government, or MOG, changes – has been ultimately counter-productive, leading to confusion about decision-making, accountability and who was actually in charge.

In addition, whenever such changes occur, public servants end up spending their time on process and administration bedding down the arrangements – transferring records, rebranding agencies, and merging different cultures and so on – rather than getting on with their core business of, in this instance, addressing youth crime.

Auditor General Brendan Worrall.

In other words, this endless government tinkering has made youth crime worse – not better.

Mr Worrell, who recognises the right of governments to organise their public administration as they see fit, has made similar points in several earlier reports. As a possible solution, Mr Worrall recommended in one report to parliament last year that the Premier’s Department and Treasury require departments “to report on the community and service delivery benefits, and the cost of changes – and provide guidance on how to do so”.

He also recommended the government “advise the incoming/returning government on the risks of restructures and draw on past lessons.” The then-Palaszczuk government agreed the idea and promised to get on to it this year.

But guess what? Unsurprisingly, as Mr Worrall records in his latest report, “These recommendations have not been fully implemented”.

David Crisafulli. Picture Lachie Millard

In other words, we are still in the dark about whether all this chopping and changing actually produces any benefit or simply does more harm than good.

This is worth knowing, because if the LNP does win office in October you can guarantee there will be another big reshuffle of government departments.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, sticking to his small-target mantra, has not given us much to work with in terms of what to expect – except there will be no forced redundancies, and that any directors-general considered to be politically aligned will get the chop.

But he has let slip there will be at least one new ministry created – a new Minister for Home Ownership.

The only guarantee is that Mr Worrall’s replacement will be every bit as frustrated with the lack of hard evidence to show that the next round of MOG changes – by Labor or an incoming LNP administration – actually makes sense.

Originally published as Editor’s view: Endless government tinkering has made youth crime worse