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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2333 ..

The Territory Owned Corporations (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1997 is a great initiative in securing the long term prosperity of Canberra and the region.

The ACT Government has been working hard to minimise the negative impact of changes to the Federal public service, while endeavouring to maximise what ever opportunity may present itself as a consequence of those changes.

In May 1997 the Commonwealth Department of Finance called for Expressions of Interest for the provision of specified support services.

On 4 June 1997, The ACT Government lodged an expression of interest proposing it would establish a shared services centre for the provision of support services to ACT Government, other Governments and private sector organisations.

This shared services centre will bring significant cost benefits, and economies of scale. The Government will also make available its BASIS, (Buyers and Sellers Information System), to assist CanDeliver in selecting local service providers.

It is proposed that the shared services centre will be called CanDeliver Limited. It is to be a Territory Owned Corporation, underwritten by the ACT Government. The centre will be operated by a private sector joint venture partner, utilising both in-house and contracted services and will draw upon the knowledge and systems developed by the ACT Government during its public sector reform program.

As the prime contractor CanDeliver Limited, will be uniquely placed to provide services to the Department of Finance given its expertise in the provision of services in a government environment, its endorsement of quality management, strong customer commitment, output based management and financial systems with a full accrual accounting framework and the security offered by the ACT Governments AAA credit rating.

On Saturday 7 June 1997 the ACT Government advertised in the Canberra Times for Expressions of Interest from private sector companies interested in becoming the Government's selected partner in this venture.

Expressions of Interest close on 24 June 1997, and it is evident that there will be several creative and competitive proposals coming forward.

The establishment of CanDeliver Limited as a Territory Owned Corporation will assist ACT small and medium businesses meet the outsourced service needs of the Federal Government as they become available.

It is a reality that the Commonwealth Department of Finance has sought tenders to outsource its corporate functions. It is a reality that Governments all over Australia are going down this track. It is a reality that in the case of the ACT, if we do nothing, it is likely that jobs will be lost to the Territory.

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