Arm's Length Bodies in the Australian Capital Territory - Time for Review?

In the Governing the City State report released in February 2011, reviewer Allan Hawke observed that 'there were currently around 180 boards and committees supported by the ACTPS ACT Public Service (ACTPS), many of which have a statutory basis.... While there are undoubted benefits from these structures, there are inevitable costs to the decision making process, principal among which is "dispersion of government entities and resulting lack of readability of the institutional system"' (Hawke, 2011: 99, quoting from OECD, 2002: 24). Hawke believed the system needed tidying up: along with recommendations relating to several particular entities, he wanted all ACT (Australian Capital Territory) government boards and committees to be reviewed 'with a view to ensuring the role and function of these bodies is clearly understood and that bodies recommended to continue have clearly designed roles and responsibilities that align with the Government's overall strategic direction and objectives' (Hawke, 2011: 7).