Public Transport PRIVATISATION

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:29): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Did the State Procurement Board approve any amendment to phase 2 of the invitation to supply process to specifically include light rail?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:29): I am happy to make inquiries in relation to that but I would like to clarify something. The member did ask, and did ask yesterday, in relation to why there was no reference to light rail as part of the phase 2 bus tender process. I was a little bit bewildered at the time and went back and had a look at the tenders website, which actually says that DPTI is undertaking:

…a ROI process to register interested parties participation in an Invitation to Supply (ITS) process to operate bus and light rail services in Metropolitan Adelaide.

It is there in the first paragraph on the landing page of the tenders website.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: But in relation to tenderers getting access to documents, we don't just hand out these documents to all and sundry. They contain quite confidential information in relation to the way these services operate. So the way that the process works is that interested parties submit a registration of interest for the tender, i.e., 'Hey, we want to be involved in the tender.' What happens then is that request is reviewed and validated as a bona fide transport operator, i.e., you have to be somebody who operates transport in order to be considered appropriate to participate in the tender. The operator is required to complete various documentation, including non-disclosure agreements in related documents, after which access to the data room is granted. Then an invitation to supply documents will be made available in the data room. That is the way the process works.

Again, on the landing page on the tenders website, it makes reference to light rail. Operators can then register their interest; from there, the department will undertake the bona fide checks that people would expect governments to undertake to make sure that these people are the people who are experienced operators in this regard, and then they are given access to that data. We think that that is a process that maintains integrity and probity, and I think quite adequately, and more than adequately, it deals with some of the assertions that were being made yesterday.