This simple change could help end dodgy election promises

A post-2025 election review of the Parliamentary Budget Office, released in March, has recommended the agency consider collecting and publishing weekly commitments from major parties throughout federal caretaker periods, allowing voters to better track promises before they head to the polls.

The agency, established in 2012 through Julia Gillard's minority government negotiations, is responsible for giving budgetary and costing advice to parliamentarians. Its role is designed to reduce the discrepancy in economic expertise available to MPs and increase the transparency of government finances.

While costings outside of election time can be kept private, the PBO must release costings for parties with more than five parliamentarians 30 days after each federal election. It is also required to release campaign commitments in the days after the elections.

But former Treasury and Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Martin Parkinson, who wrote the report, said a weekly, published list of commitments would compel increased "system transparency".

"It's really hard for people to know what's a commitment and what's not," he told The Canberra Times, in reference to political lines spouted during campaigns.

The recommendation would require parties to provide a list of commitments to the PBO weekly, to be compiled and uploaded online. Dr Parkinson did not suggest costings should be done weekly.

"That would be ridiculous in the sense that they wouldn't have enough time between an announcement and releasing the costing immediately," he said.

While the change would not be a silver bullet for stopping dodgy promises, it would allow taxpayers to see all possibilities in one place and make their own summations in the weeks before voting. A similar system is in place in Victoria.

The PBO last year revealed Peter Dutton's tumultuous plans to cut the public service by 41,000 heads would have required $1.56 billion to be spent on redundancy and incentive payments over six years.

Early confirmation of promises like that would allow the media to run comprehensive analyses and calculations, increasing the knowledge of voters.

The Canberra Times understands several staff are seconded to PBO during each caretaker period to track media reporting of commitments. Lists are then compiled.

"It would impose a bit of discipline on the system if everyone was clear [from the parties directly] what were actual commitments and what were not," Dr Parkinson said.

His review, for which dozens of politicians, economists and journalists were consulted, made another 22 recommendations, focusing on credibility, service offering, increased transparency and the agency's long-term success.

Dr Parkinson said the PBO was held in high regard and was a very well-functioning agency.

"The clear message was the PBO has nothing broken. That's the key take out, but even highly-performing entities can do better, and that's what we built the recommendations around," he said.

But minor parties and independents were increasingly requesting costings from the PBO, the report said, which would, in time, stretch the organisation's resourcing and ultimately tarnish its reputation.

"Without a budget increase, they are going to really struggle in the future to be able to produce what they have done in the past," he said.

The agency was also recommended to proactively engage more with parliamentarians, staffers and media, so people understood its functions and could ask detailed questions.

It is understood that the PBO is considering all recommendations.