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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-03-07 Daily Xml
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GOVERNMENT STATIONERY CONTRACT

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (14:45): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, representing the Minister for Finance, questions regarding the across government contract for the provision of stationery and related products.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: Contention has been raised recently with regard to the government's attempt to provide a one-stop shop across government for all stationery products, including toners following the 'tonergate' fiasco. The contract was awarded to two multinational companies. Particularly contentious is the fact that only metropolitan schools were included in the contract. I have been advised by the company previously responsible for supplying all schools with stationery, KW Wholesale Stationers, that non-metropolitan schools were excluded from the contract. I have been further advised that some may consider the exclusion of non-metropolitan schools to be profit skimming as predominately profit is made by supplying the metropolitan schools and that it is virtually non-viable to only supply non-metropolitan schools. My questions are:

1. Why did the contract exclude non-metropolitan schools from the contract? On whose advice was this done? What was the nature of the advice?

2. Why were other essential school products such as art and craft materials and janitorial supplies also not included in the contract?

3. Was an economic impact study conducted before the tender was awarded? If not, will the minister consider conducting economic impact statements of the effects on local businesses before tenders are awarded in the future?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:47): I thank the honourable member for his most important questions and I will refer them to the Minister for Finance in another place and bring back a response. If I recall, I believe that—and obviously the minister will either confirm this or not—the exclusion of regional schools was at the request of those regional centres that wanted to be excluded because of the local arrangements that they had in place and the convenience around that. But as I said, I am not the minister responsible and I will refer the questions to the appropriate minister and bring back a response.

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