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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-11-09 Daily Xml
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PRINTER CARTRIDGE SCAM

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:06): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to the Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion on the subject of cartridgegate.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The opposition has been provided with a copy of an invoice for Disability SA's Whyalla office. That invoice is from the company Consumables Management Group Pty Ltd, dated 17 July 2009, and is for a total value of $914.90 for printer cartridges. On the invoice is identified as still on back order one Sunbeam product to be provided to the particular public servant who was involved.

The minister will be aware that the Minister for Finance yesterday indicated that over 40 government entities have now been caught up in the cartridgegate scandal and an unspecified number of officers in those agencies have been identified and caught up in those inquiries. The minister outlined that post July 2009 the total value of invoices is almost $1 million. What the minister did not indicate yesterday was the significant number of invoices and officers involved pre July 2009. My questions to the Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion are:

1. For all government entities that report to the minister, what advice has he now received as the new minister in terms of the number of invoices for those government entities which he is responsible for, both post July 2009 and pre July 2009, what advice he has received in relation to the value of those invoices and what advice has he received in relation to the number of officers that might be involved?

2. In relation to the one already publicly identified invoice from Disability SA's Whyalla office, has he ensured that matter is referred to the Auditor-General and/or South Australian police, as the chief executive officer for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet did on the day that he became aware of an officer involved in similar circumstances in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet?

3. Is there already a disciplinary inquiry instituted within his agencies in relation to either that officer or any other officer who has been identified to the minister who is engaged in similar practices within government entities that report to the minister?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:10): I am pleased to advise, according to the ministerial statement of the Hon. Mr Michael O'Brien in the other place, that:

On 21 September 2011, specific allegations of inappropriate printer cartridge purchases in the Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet were raised. They were referred to the Auditor-General and SA Police. The Chief Executive of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet wrote to all agencies on 22 September—

all agencies—

seeking that they undertake an urgent review of procurement practices, particularly in relation to computer consumables.

...the terms of reference of the Procurement Working Group...will be provided with initial advice within the next two weeks and then further advice as required when progress is made against the terms of reference criteria—

that the minister has laid down.

The Minister for Finance will be thoroughly investigating this issue and I refer the Hon. Mr Lucas to the ministerial statement tabled in the other place yesterday.

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