1) removing the word "independent" and 2) making the Director nominated by the department body if possible

I would be fine with both of these if we think they would be the right course of action. On the second point I would still want the Assembly to confirm said director.

Above all else, I hope to be a decent person.
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CoA: August 2016-January 2017
Minister of Foreign Affairs: October 2019-June 2020, October 2020- February 2021

(This post was last modified: 05-09-2020, 11:53 PM by Omega.)

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1) removing the word "independent" and 2) making the Director nominated by the department body if possible

I would be fine with both of these if we think they would be the right course of action. On the second point I would still want the Assembly to confirm said director.

To respond to Somyrion, having the department remain a part of the law is my issue. Either collapse it into Integration or Regional Affairs, or have it remain totally independent. There’s not a need for a constitutionally mandated media organisation when the need is fulfilled with less bureaucracy.

And to Omega, why do you request Assembly confirmation? What is the purpose of that?

ProfessorHenn
Legislator

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why do you request Assembly confirmation?

I want to ensure accountability to the members of the region.

Above all else, I hope to be a decent person.
Has Been
What's Next?

 

CoA: August 2016-January 2017
Minister of Foreign Affairs: October 2019-June 2020, October 2020- February 2021

(This post was last modified: 05-10-2020, 01:00 AM by Omega.)

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I want to ensure accountability to the members of the region.

As much as I appreciate the thought of wishing to ensure accountability, this not a scenario where the proposed solution is the best for the region. Regular reports from leadership should be the status quo in all aspects of government, and if they do not provide, or if the quality of what ja being produced and delivered is subpar, speak with the Director directly and see what is happening, start an inquiry to investigate what the organisation is actually doing, and motion to recall the Director if no previous options have been able to correct any issues. Leave it up to the Cabinet to decide on an appointee for the position, to reflect that it’s the Cabinet that holds immediate oversight, and allow a recall from the Assembly to show that they have ultimate oversight.

ProfessorHenn
Legislator

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I want to ensure accountability to the members of the region.

As much as I appreciate the thought of wishing to ensure accountability, this not a scenario where the proposed solution is the best for the region. Regular reports from leadership should be the status quo in all aspects of government, and if they do not provide, or if the quality of what ja being produced and delivered is subpar, speak with the Director directly and see what is happening, start an inquiry to investigate what the organisation is actually doing, and motion to recall the Director if no previous options have been able to correct any issues. Leave it up to the Cabinet to decide on an appointee for the position, to reflect that it’s the Cabinet that holds immediate oversight, and allow a recall from the Assembly to show that they have ultimate oversight. 

Actually this works, but only in real-life. This is a game, and the Assembly is very passive when it comes to proactively review the performance of government institutions. Regular reconfirmation is necessary to force us to proactively review directors' performance every few months or so.

Chief Supervising Armchair

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Regular reconfirmation is necessary to force us to proactively review directors' performance every few months or so.

I can not agree more wholeheartedly with this.

Above all else, I hope to be a decent person.
Has Been
What's Next?

 

CoA: August 2016-January 2017
Minister of Foreign Affairs: October 2019-June 2020, October 2020- February 2021

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Regular reconfirmation is necessary to force us to proactively review directors' performance every few months or so.

But what is stopping the Assembly from confirming a yes man, or refusing to confirm a potentially outstanding director for political concerns, or neglecting the confirmation altogether? Not to mention the potential for not truly reviewing the performance beyond simple statistics such as article or word count, neither of which is the true mark of a very effective newspaper.

What your argument appears to me as is an attempt to legislate what should be a normal part of Assembly culture, that of proactive oversight without the need to be prompted. I am aware the Assembly is traditionally a very passive force in that regard, but it takes individuals leading that charge against complacency to fix the issue, not a law requiring reconfirmation of a newspaper lead. Chief Justice Kringle has the right idea, with his recent post here. I applaud his effort.

ProfessorHenn
Legislator

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why do you request Assembly confirmation?

I want to ensure accountability to the members of the region.

If you wish to have officials accountable to the region, meritorcratically selecting them through a bureaucratic process isn't the way forward, in my opinion.
If you want accountability, the easiest way to do that is through electing them.

Aga/Eunopiar

Mostly does boring things.

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why do you request Assembly confirmation?

I want to ensure accountability to the members of the region.

If you wish to have officials accountable to the region, meritorcratically selecting them through a bureaucratic process isn't the way forward, in my opinion.
If you want accountability, the easiest way to do that is through electing them.

I do absolutely agree with your point that these portfolios should be accountable to the Legislators, whether it be through confirmation votes or elections. It was one of my original arguments in favour of a split of the Ministry of Regional Affairs which chooses department heads internally and through a bureaucratic process. However, where I diverge from your view is in distinguishing a utility like graphics creation with other areas like integration.

I believe the distinction between a portfolio with a decidedly policy focus such as integration or culture and one like graphics or media is that the latter two are public utilities which exist to complement the activities of the ministries, whether it be through creating graphics for a regional event or producing a news report on said event. I don't imagine we will be able to have very interesting or, for that matter, worthwhile elections, if the platform for all the candidates for graphics are the same: "I will create pretty graphics".

This distinction between the public utilities component of our government and the policy component is an important one which has been presented very well in Qwert's original proposal and finessed in Omega's subsequent bill.

Perhaps we can proceed with this version and see how it goes. It won't be catastrophic to the region if it turns out to be, as ProfessorHenn warns, a rubber stamp. We will be able to review this in the future and if this is the case, we can revise the law as we did with the Legislator Committee.

Admiral General of the South Pacific

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If we do want to split Culture, media and integration, why don't we make them fully fledged ministries?

Aga/Eunopiar

Mostly does boring things.

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