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SA searching for new Auditor-General

Feb 20, 2015
Auditor-General Simon O'Neill

Auditor-General Simon O'Neill

The South Australian Government is searching for a new Auditor-General.

Current Auditor-General Simon O’Neill has told the Government be will be retiring after 43 years in the public service..

O’Neill, who held the position for seven years, finishes on March 27.

Premier Jay Weatherill said O’Neill had been a wonderful servant of the state.

“Mr O’Neill has always shown the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in his work,” he said.

The Government will advertise for the position immediately.

O’Neill has been a low-profile but tenacious watchdog of the taxpayers’ interests, notably through his numerous scathing assessments of financial management in SA Health.

It gives some insight into the style of the man that he specifically asked not to receive a pay rise, in the interests of budgetary restraint.

As we reported in January 2014, while O’Neill didn’t want a larger salary, Weatherill (who was Treasurer at the time) asked the Remuneration Tribunal to adjust the salaries of O’Neill and other statutory office holders in line with any increase to public sector executive salaries.

The South Australian Remuneration Tribunal agreed with Weatherill and handed out a 2.5 per cent increase, against O’Neill’s wishes.

In its determination reported in the Government Gazette, the Remuneration Tribunal said O’Neill had wanted no change to his salary.

“The Auditor-General conveyed his view of ‘the need for continuation of the exercise of salary constraint due to the tight budgetary conditions being experienced by the South Australian public sector and its workforce’.

“The Auditor-General concluded that ‘there should be no alteration to my remuneration’.”

Weatherill said he wasn’t aware of O’Neill’s request.

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