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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (27 March) . . Page.. 748 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

community support - this side of the house will actually support these amendments, recognising that they are just making the administrative arrangements a little simpler and not actually changing the essence of the control that the Bill tried to provide in the first place. So, with those regrets, our support is there.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.

Bill agreed to.

ADJOURNMENT

Motion (by Mr Humphries) proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

Nigerian Letter

MS FOLLETT (5.12): Mr Speaker, I would like to draw to the Assembly's attention a matter which I find perplexing and not a little bit sinister, perhaps. I refer to a letter that has been received by one member of our business community in the ACT. The letter purports to be from a Nigerian project supervisor, who is attempting to use Australian business bank accounts to obtain payment for work done for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the NNPC. Mr Speaker, the letter reads in part:

A brief explanation of how this fund emanated is as follow: We, at the NNPC assisted a foreign contractor to secure and execute the supply of monax axial turbine polypropylene plants, system optimization and reconstruction works for Kaduna and Warri refineries respectively. For our assistance, we irrevocably agreed with the contractor that we shall be entitled to 10% of the total contract value as our commission. To take care of our percentage and commission, the contract was purposely over invoiced to the tune of US$30.2 million. The contract has long been completed and commissioned and 90% of the contract amount paid to the contractor with a completion certificate issued to the effect.

At present, the sum of US$30.2 million is floating in the suspense account of the NNPC with the Central Bank of Nigeria. To conclude this lucrative business, your co-operation will be highly required.

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