A NUMBER of key developments yesterday indicated just how high on the political Richter scale is the damage inflicted by the Wales Audit Office’s 0/10 government assessment report.

It has united the island’s four main business lobby groups into urging deputies to take immediate remedial action and the chief and Treasury ministers – not always cheek-by-jowl on policy issues – to warmly endorse the WAO’s findings.

Islanders, too, will appreciate the hard-hitting report and wonder only why it has taken so long, and another £60,000 of their money, to highlight the obvious.

The issue now becomes one of what happens next.

On page nine, the Treasury minister sets out in detail the moves that are already in place to make the operation of the States more efficient and more financially controlled.

The difficulty, as things stand, is that there is no guarantee that any of the much-needed agenda for change will be delivered.

The strategic business plan and linking it to resources will still be aspirational and abiding by it largely optional for the various departments, identified by the WAO and Tribal Helm as semi-autonomous. It is not until members vote for voluntary guidelines on finance, property, IT and procurement to become mandatory that any real progress can be made.

And that has too strong an aroma of turkeys and Christmas for islanders to be confident of significant change.

That is recognised, among others, by the Treasury and chief ministers who (in different words) both regard the current consensus system of government very much to be on trial when it comes to making the changes so obviously needed.

Those opposed to meaningful change have already declared their hand, all 27 of them.

For more than half the Assembly to close its mind to that which offers significant benefits for islanders without waiting for the WAO’s evidence is deeply troubling.

The report is already critical of poor decisions being taken on questionable information.

In this case, a majority of deputies have reached a conclusion in the absence of facts.

It shows how bad things are – and the mountain to climb before there will be improvement.