ACT Speaker Joy Burch has officially farewelled outgoing Auditor-General Dr Maxine Cooper as she finishes her seven-year term in the job this week.
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Ms Burch and other territory politicians were among those at the Legislative Assembly for a function on Monday to farewell Dr Cooper, who has also worked in other key territory government positions during her public service career.
Dr Cooper has led the audit office through a raft of detailed audits in recent years, ranging from investigations into the government's asbestos taskforce's work, its urban renewal program, and audits into a series of controversial government land deals in recent years.
Under her leadership, the audit office has regularly produced nine or 10 detailed performance audits a year, in addition to the regular financial auditing functions the office provides the government.
Other issues Dr Cooper has examined in recent years include: the rehabilitation of male detainees at the Alexander Maconochie Centre, the maintenance of public housing, data integrity in ACT Health and the appointment of former Canberra Liberals leader Brendan Smyth as the territory's only Commissioner for International Engagement.
Before her appointment as Auditor-General, Dr Cooper was the territory's Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment and head of the ACT water security taskforce, as well as several other territory public service executive roles and working in the private sector.
Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly Joy Burch MLA farewelled on Monday the ACT Auditor-General, Dr Maxine Cooper. The Speaker and Dr Cooper were joined by senior executives of the ACT Public Service, the staff of the ACT Audit Office and Dr Cooper’s close family and friends.
Ms Burch said Dr Cooper had made a significant contribution to the administration and public accountability of the territory, and she wished her the very best in her future endeavours.
Dr Cooper's last day in the audit office is Tuesday this week, after which the office's chief finance officer Ajay Sharma will act in the role for up to six months while the Speaker recruits for a new Auditor-General.
Clarification: This article previously stated the government would run the recruitment. The recruitment is run by the Speaker, as the Auditor-General is an office of the Assembly.
