An extensive involvement: the Treasury Portfolio and the OECD

Chapter 8 is the first of two chapters that examine the role of Treasury and the agencies in its portfolio, the most extensive involvement of all government portfolios in OECD work. The full range of the portfolio’s work cannot be covered in this study, so the chapter is restricted to a selection of its work, commencing with an examination of Treasury’s role in promoting Australian membership of the OECD, before moving on to provide an outline of the varying extent and intensity of the Treasury Department’s involvement with OECD committees. This is followed by a brief description of the involvement of the major agencies in the Treasury Portfolio, with the final section providing an in-depth examination of Treasury involvement with the Economic Development Review Committee (EDRC), the reviews of which have often provided considerable challenges for the Department, largely as regards their political sensitivity when they are critical of current economic policy. Key words: membership; Treasury; EDRC; political sensitivity