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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (26 February) . . Page.. 463 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

actually criticising - and they have not done it to date - the granting of a facility to a government instrumentality. All their criticism to date actually has been in relation to, I think, Leisure Australia. Having had a quick look through this report, which your committee is going to get, obviously, Mr Whitecross, to report further on, I note that there is nothing in there which says anything other than that the process was absolutely fair and proper in relation to that body. For the first time, we have them having a whinge about Erindale College actually getting that centre.

Mrs Carnell: Ministers do not interfere in tender processes.

MR STEFANIAK: Ministers do not interfere in tender processes. However, what governments do and what I should do in this matter is look very carefully at this report, look very carefully at what comes out of the Public Accounts Committee about the Government response and see where things can be improved in future, as is suggested by this report.

I note that you lot have certainly not accepted everything in an Auditor-General's report. I can recall two reports in relation to senior secondary colleges, for example, where the Auditor-General and his ideas were very much pooh-poohed by those opposite. However, if there are things that could be done better, if there are things in the process that were somewhat defective and should be taken on board to ensure things like that do not happen again, I will look at them. That is the role of this Government. That is my role as Minister, and that is certainly something I will be attending to.

I am advised - and I have had a chance to look briefly at this report - that all tenderers were aware that the issue of the co-location of the centre with Erindale College was being looked at concurrently with the tendering process. I am also advised that they were advised in the tender documents that the bureau would be considering in-house proposals concurrently with tenders. That, I am advised, was within the knowledge certainly of the other people who were tendering. I am further advised that the preferred tenderer had certainly expressed their satisfaction with the process and the decision to transfer the management to Education and Training.

Let us just put aside for this minute any problems with that process. That is certainly something I am concerned about.

Mr Whitecross: Let us just forget all about it.

MR STEFANIAK: No; actually, Mr Whitecross, that is not the position of this Government. We like to see whether we can do things better. If there are problems in the way things are done, we like to do them better next time. Maybe that is something you do not particularly like to do, but that is certainly something we are quite keen to do. That is why we look very carefully at these reports and see what we can take on board to ensure things are done better. Maybe it is something you lot should do if you ever become the government.

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