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John Doyle says he would have stayed if not for AG debacle

The departing B.C. Auditor General John Doyle would have stayed in British Columbia if his appointment had been automatically renewed as expected , he told Business in Vancouver today.
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Former B.C. auditor general John Doyle left his job in May.

The departing B.C. Auditor General John Doyle would have stayed in British Columbia if his appointment had been automatically renewed as expected, he told Business in Vancouver today.

Instead, Doyle has accepted the post of Auditor General for the state of Victoria in Australia, as announced this morning by Victoria premier Ted Baillieu.

Doyle said, "My initial intention when I came to Victoria [B.C.] was that I would serve two terms and then either retire here as a Canadian citizen or move from Australia to Canada at different times of the year.

"I was definitely committed to actually staying here and my long-term plan in the way that I was developing the office took that into account."

Doyle said his term in B.C. finishes at the end of October and he does not intend to resign. He said the timeline for the transition to his new role in Australia is still up in the air, but that they would like him to start as early as possible.

He touched on the difficulties he has had in his term here, referring to issues including those with accounting processesat the legislative assembly and BC Hydro, as well as the political corruption surrounding BC Rail, saying he "hit a raw nerve" with the government.

"I actually have great difficulties with the thinking processes around an Auditor General doing his job properly and then being considered to have done his job too well."

Business in Vancouver previously reported that Doyle, who has been B.C.'s Auditor General since 2007, had been ultimately reappointed for his position after the job ads placed in newspapers indicated the government was looking to replace him, leading to a public outcry.

Republished from Business in Vancouver