PRINTER CARTRIDGE SCAM

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:10): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Finance a question about the 'cartridgegate' scandal and the Weatherill government's appalling performance in managing it.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Earlier this week, the procurement working group's made its final report. On the last page of that report, it stated:

The State Procurement Board is also aware that an investigation being conducted by the Auditor-General has provided relevant background information to assist the investigation.

That statement by the procurement working group is in stark contrast to the minister's statement and, indeed, evidence that has been given to the Budget and Finance Committee over recent months. The minister's ministerial statement does not report in that fashion; rather, it states:

The Auditor-General has been kept informed of the procurement working group's findings during the investigation.

In evidence taken over a number of meetings with the Budget and Finance Committee, a number of chief executive officers late last year all reported that they had had no contact at all from the Auditor-General or audit staff in relation to the 'cartridgegate' issue. For example, on 12 December last year, in response to a question as to whether there had been any contact from the Auditor-General's Office which would lead him to believe that he or his office were conducting an investigation into this issue, Steve Archer of PIRSA said, 'No, no contact to us at all.'

Again, as recently as 3 March this year, Mr Ray Garrand, the CEO of DFEEST, was asked a very similar question, and he indicated that there was no evidence. He also indicated, referring to the recent Auditor-General's management letter, which actually lists the areas the audit staff would concentrate on in the DFEEST portfolio, that the issue of 'cartridgegate', or the purchase of printer cartridges, etc., was not listed specifically in the audit management letter they had received.

I did note that, in interviews given by the Minister for Finance yesterday, when he was challenged on the issue as to whether this issue should be referred to the Auditor-General for investigation, he dismissed that option as being a very last century approach to management of these sorts of issues in the public sector. My questions are:

1. What discussions has the minister had with the Auditor-General or his staff about the 'cartridgegate' scandal, and what were the dates and nature of those discussions, if any, with the Auditor-General and his staff?

2. Has the minister been advised that the Auditor-General is conducting a full inquiry into 'cartridgegate' which involves audit staff questioning public servants involved in the 'cartridgegate' scandal? If he has not, what does the minister make of the statement that I have quoted from the procurement working group's final report, which claims that there is an ongoing inquiry by the Auditor-General's Office into this issue?

The PRESIDENT: The honourable member should get to his question.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I am in it. This is the second question.

The PRESIDENT: All right; good.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: You should listen, Mr President. It would actually assist you if you listened.

The PRESIDENT: It was putting me to sleep.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: This is a question.

The PRESIDENT: I was getting bored.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I am just filling in the time. There are four minutes to go yet, Mr President. The third question (before I was rudely interrupted by persons unnamed and unknown) is:

3. Can the minister clarify whether the $1.2 million figure reported by the procurement working group as the total value of purchases from the suspect companies includes any figure from any agency before 1 July 2009; and, if it does, what are the figures from each particular department and what are the totals of any pre-1 July 2009 figures included in that $1.2 million summary figure?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:15): I thank the member for his questions. I will forward them to the appropriate minister, the Minister for Finance, for a response.