Page 961 - Week 03 - Thursday, 14 March 1991
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has also been widened to utilise private sector credit bureaus for any doubt that arises in the initial assessment.
Mr Speaker, Public Works has this year issued an interim code of tendering which sets out the procedures and processes which are used in the calling and letting of contracts. This document provides a clear presentation of these procedures for all those contractors who deal with Public Works. I would encourage any contractor who wishes to make constructive comment on these procedures to provide it to me, so that a final code of tendering can be issued late this year. I also invite the Opposition to join in that process. The invitation is there for its members to obtain a copy of that code and to make any suggestions which they feel are positive. But, of course, we would not get a positive suggestion from Mr Connolly at the best of times.
While the construction industry will always remain a high risk industry and, consequently, in times of recession such as we are experiencing now - through, I might add, no fault whatsoever of that industry, but instead through the fault of the Federal Labor Government - there will be companies which fail, I believe that the Government's Public Works department has done a thorough job of assessing its contractors and managing what is a major program of works. There is always room for improvement - I will not deny that - and I hope that the work being done by the public works forum and the Federal Government's micro-economic reform initiatives in the building and construction industry will result in procedures which provide even more security for our contractors.
Mr Speaker, during his comments Mr Connolly specifically mentioned the problem with Hunt Boilers. During that he implied some things that I think need to be answered. The simple fact is that the project manager on the Hunt Boilers contract did not do anything incorrect. Project Coordination Pty Ltd did check far more than was required under the terms of contract. It also ensured that payments due had been made before it made its last payment. It is only in the last month of the contract that the Hunt Boilers problem arose. Prior to that, all payments had been made to subcontractors and suppliers as required.
I know that this is tiring, but it has to be said. I think it is also worthwhile pointing out that Public Works did audit Project Coordination Pty Ltd's books to ensure that it was making those payments. So, all those calls for a regular ongoing audit system to be established have been answered already. That work has been done, and it has been done in the past. The simple problem with the construction industry is that some day, one day, a firm is going to go into liquidation and the last month's payments are always going to be a problem.
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