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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-13 Daily Xml
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GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS, PROBITY

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government a question about probity guidelines.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: On Tuesday of this week I put a series of questions to the Leader of the Government on the issue of probity guidelines that apply to him and other ministers in the government, particularly in relation to shortlisting bidders for contracts such as the desalination project.

In one of those questions, I highlighted the desalination project, although the minister should have known that the desalination project is not a PPP project. The minister then responded in part to the question by saying:

In relation to this important matter [that is, about the desal contract] there are, of course, protocols in place for any upcoming PPP projects.

He went on to say:

The protocols are that no minister or ministerial staff should meet with any potential bidder or adviser to a bidder in connection with any PPP-related issue, nor discuss a PPP project directly or indirectly with any bidder or adviser to a bidder.

I will not read the rest of it. Again, it highlights the probity guidelines that apply to him, as a minister, and to other Rann government ministers in respect of PPP projects.

As I highlight to you, Mr President, and to the Leader of the Government again, my question did not relate to PPP projects: it related to the desal contract and other similar contracts and, for some reason, the minister chose to respond in terms of the PPP project. My simple question to the minister is as follows: given that he has outlined the probity guidelines that apply for PPP projects, can the minister indicate whether similar probity guidelines apply to him and other Rann government ministers for major contracts like the desal contract, which is not a PPP?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:50): I find it rather ironic that a treasurer in the former government which had such a large number of casualties among its ministers in relation to probity should be so preoccupied with this issue. There were even ministers in that government who were actually trading in shares within their own portfolios. That was the sort of probity behaviour that one would have thought would be pretty basic.

In his question earlier this week, the former treasurer asked about guidelines, and I gave him the most detailed of those probity guidelines that apply to PPP projects. Obviously the PPP projects are, if you like, the highest level where one has to be particularly careful in relation to probity, but those broad principles which are encapsulated in the Ministerial Code of Conduct apply to behaviour generally.

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