B.C. auditor general takes job in Australia

 CBC News Posted: Feb 5, 2013 6:02 AM PT 
Controversial B.C. Auditor General John Doyle is heading to Australia to take up a new job as the state of Victoria's Auditor General.  Ted Baillieu, premier of the state of Victoria, said in a statement he was pleased Doyle accepted the post. "The role of Auditor General is vital to the good governance of the state,” the statement said. “The Auditor General has an essential role in ensuring that public funds are not only spent in line with the appropriations made by Parliament, but also that those funds are spent effectively to the benefit of Victorians.” Doyle had been offered a further two-year term in B.C., after the legislative committee decided not to extend his original appointment — and then revised its offer after Premier Christy Clark unveiled changes to the appointment process.  Doyle started his term as B.C.'s auditor general in October 2007 after serving as a deputy auditor general in Australia. Doyle's most high-profile investigation is his ongoing examination of the government's decision to pay the $6-million legal bills for two former ministerial aides, Dave Basi and Bobby Virk, who pleaded guilty to leaking information related to the sale of BC Rail. He is currently fighting the provincial government in court to obtain files related to that payout and others. Other work has included a report last year that criticized financial accountability in the legislature, an investigation that revealed a lack of resources in the environmental assessment process and a report into the deferral of expenses at BC Hydro. He recently released a report that called on the government to introduce whistleblower protection for public servants.