Land Services Commercialisation Project

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (14:29): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Treasurer, representing the Attorney-General, about the land services commercialisation project.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: The land services commercialisation project by the previous state Labor government led to the appointment of a private operation, Land Services SA, to deliver certain land titling and property valuation services for 40 years, commencing on 13 October 2017. The South Australian government retained ultimate responsibility for maintaining the ongoing integrity of the land and valuation roll under the commercialisation contract arrangements to ensure the proper performance of the outsourced services and maintenance of statutory functions and protections. A report by the Auditor-General on 10 December 2018 to parliament concluded that:

…there were delays in establishing several elements of the framework and a number of key elements are yet to be fully established and operating. To ensure the effectiveness of the outsourcing arrangement with the service provider, the South Australian government needs to be vigilant in actively monitoring contract deliverables, service level reporting and the effectiveness of service provider systems and controls over the 40-year term.

The Auditor-General reported implementation deficiencies and recommended actions. My question to the minister is: will the Attorney-General request the Registrar-General and the Valuer-General for a detailed report on what actions have been taken by them in the last two years to address the concerns expressed in the Auditor-General's report to parliament?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:31): The Hon. Mr Darley is right to provide a forensic light on one of the many Labor Party privatisations when they were in government and I'm happy to refer the honourable member's question to the Attorney-General and bring back a response.