Locating the Public in Australian Public Enterprise: Reinforcing the Public Objectives and Public Accountability of Australian Government-Owned Businesses

This thesis examines the accountability and governance frameworks of Australian government-owned businesses (‘GOBs’) and considers strategies to increase the likelihood that GOBs will be managed in a public-regarding manner. The thesis finds that corporatised GOBs’ commercial objectives – correctly – supplement rather than replace GOBs’ pre-existing public interest objectives. The thesis then catalogues and analyses the wide range of formal accountability mechanisms under both public and corporate law to which GOBs are subject. This thesis argues that it would be desirable to make legal accountability mechanisms accessible to the public directly, including through a proposed public derivative action procedure.