GOVERNMENT STATIONERY CONTRACT

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:34): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. As the contracts with OfficeMax and Corporate Express are not exclusive contracts, why were schools instructed to purchase stationery from these companies exclusively?

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Finance, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:34): They are exclusive contracts.

Mr Marshall: But they're not. You just said that.

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN: They are exclusive contracts—

The SPEAKER: I warn the leader for the first time.

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN: —to the extent of the clearly specified exclusion, which is country schools.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN: Well, if it's all a little too complicated for you, I can get you a briefing.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN: No, you're struggling. The arrangement with the schools is that country schools are exempt, because one of the stipulations of the tender was 24-hour delivery and none of the tenderers could meet that particular requirement.

The other exemption is art supplies, because it was felt that they were such a specific school-based product range that it was unreasonable to expect companies that were tendering, I think, on a basket of 1,500 commonly used stationery items across government to have the product range to deal with art goods. They are the only exceptions that were specified in the tender document, and eight companies tendered against those very specific specifications.