Small Business Commissioner Report

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (14:47): My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer publicly release the Small Business Commissioner report he was provided earlier this year regarding the company B.J. Jarrad?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:47): We are considering the release of that report. There is obviously a lot of sensitive commercial information in that report. The government is considering its position on those matters. It is something I am very concerned about. It is very concerning. I understand the local member has concerns about that, and I have been lobbied by many members about this. The concern that we have, of course, is that in that example the government I think did everything it could to help companies like B.J. Jarrad. This is the situation we are in.

When we have a master contractor who goes out and gives out work and they attempt to bring companies back into the fold after they perhaps may have issues in the past, and they have subcontractors, the government does its part and pays its bill for the work done, and then a company somewhere along the chain either is unable to pay their bills or goes into administration or liquidation, the question for us is: does the government pay twice? If the government pays twice, what does that mean for future precedents?

Every time the government goes out to work, how will that alter the behaviour of contractors if they know that the government will not only honour its original contract but will pay again using the taxpayers' fund because we have the deepest pockets? People keep on coming back to us. The question is: where do we draw the line? There are consequences for holding the line. There are consequences for families and businesses who are let down by contractors who have done the wrong thing. In the B.J. Jarrad case, I understand the situation is that SA Water had engaged with a contractor who, after a period of time, had rebuilt its ability to tender. It was given a second chance, and then it let SA Water down again. The question then is: do we pay twice?

I have to say that I have a lot of sympathy for companies affected by B.J. Jarrad. I have a lot of sympathy, but there is a broader principle at stake here, and that broader principle is: how often do we let unscrupulous behaviour get away with the fact that the state government will pay? The question then is: how do we structure our contracts? I know that the Minister for Small Business and the Minister for Infrastructure are working away—

Mr Knoll: You've been working on it for two years.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Hang on a second. They are working away at a structure to deal with this. It is a very complex issue, and I have had a lot of personal lobbying from the member for Finniss about this because he is concerned about it as well, as has the Small Business Commissioner. I know that people are concerned about it, so we are trying to come to a solution, but it is a very difficult and complex issue because if the government does just pay what that means in the future is that every time that a contractor—

Mr Marshall: When will you know what you're going to do?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: You try and give a considered answer and when the house goes silent and it's not going the way the Leader of the Opposition wants, he interjects, which speaks volumes about who he is.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader and the deputy leader are both on two warnings. If they make an utterance outside standing orders, they will depart.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I think the question from the member for Flinders is a reasonable one. I am considering releasing that report and we are considering government policy on how to deal with those situations in the future.