Northern Territory Auditor-General's Office, February 2023 Report to the Legislative Assembly
Tabled Paper 772
Tabled Papers for 14th Assembly 2020 -; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
2023-02-14
Tabled by the Speaker
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
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Tabled papers
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/898837
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/898851
Auditor-General for the Northern Territory February 2023 Report Page 9 of 131 Cobourg Peninsula Sanctuary and Marine Park Board Audit findings and analysis of the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2022 Background The Cobourg Peninsula Sanctuary and Marine Park Board (Cobourg) was formed in 1981 under the Cobourg Peninsula Aboriginal Land, Sanctuary and Marine Park Act 1981 to acknowledge and secure the right of Aboriginals to occupy and use certain land on the Cobourg Peninsula, to vest that land in trust for Aboriginals, to declare that land to be a national park, to make provisions relating to the management of adjacent marine areas and related purposes. Scope and objectives The objective of the audit was to complete sufficient audit procedures to enable an opinion to be expressed upon the financial statements of the Cobourg Peninsula Sanctuary and Marine Park Board for the year ended 30 June 2022. Audit opinion The audit of the Cobourg Peninsula Sanctuary and Marine Park Board for the year ended 30 June 2022 resulted in an unmodified independent audit opinion, which was issued on 21 December 2022. Audit observations Key findings Governance practices within the Board require improvement The Board met only once in the financial year ended 30 June 2022 and once in the financial year ended 30 June 2021. This may not be sufficient to demonstrate that the Board has effectively discharged its duties as prescribed by the Cobourg Peninsula Aboriginal Land, Sanctuary and Marine Park Act 1981. Processes to identify and disclose related party transactions can be enhanced Related party declaration of interest forms were pre-populated by personnel from the Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security. This may have an unintended impact whereby the individual signing the form gives limited consideration to the questions intended to assist in identifying conflicts of interest. Related party disclosure declarations were received from 6 Board members and were provided for audit. There were 3 Board members who had not provided completed Related Party Disclosures Declaration Forms by the date the financial statements were signed by the Board.