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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 13 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4134 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

CanDeliver has been reasonably successful in obtaining that work. As I indicated to the Assembly, I think on Tuesday, I believe that of 22 contracts bid for by CanDeliver they were successful in 12. However, Mr Speaker, the relatively small margins available on even 12 contracts have not been enough to see CanDeliver operate in the black. The level of subsidy to be provided by the ACT taxpayer to the operations of CanDeliver continues, and I believe it ought to be drawn to a close.

In this financial year CanDeliver was expected to receive an injection of equity in the order of $1m. I hope that the decision that we make today, and I hope we make it today, to be able to dispose of the main undertakings of CanDeliver will allow that subvention, if you like, not to have to proceed, and for there to be, nonetheless, a continuation of the existing contracts of CanDeliver delivered by other players. The other players I refer to specifically are subcontractors who presently enjoy the work, in effect, that CanDeliver has won from those 12 contracts.

Mr Speaker, I suppose the question will arise as to whether, in divesting CanDeliver of its main undertakings and in due course winding it up, there is some legitimate criticism that CanDeliver was a bad idea in the first place or was a good idea that was poorly executed. On both those scores, I want to put my view and the Government's view on the record.

I think that the concept behind CanDeliver was a sound one. It was a concept which relied on the premise that we could successfully compete with larger players, large interstate players, larger corporate entities in the financial market, that were very likely to be able to succeed to that work were it not for a vehicle to provide local businesses with some avenue to obtain that work. I believe that what CanDeliver has provided to the ACT business sector is a stronger understanding of what they can achieve, and a capacity to work together to be able to develop consortia and other cooperative ventures to successfully obtain Commonwealth work. I do not believe that CanDeliver is necessary in the future for that kind of successful bidding to occur on the part of local businesses.

On the question of whether CanDeliver has been a concept poorly executed, the Government appointed a board which it felt was appropriately qualified and experienced to be able to take on the task of running an enterprise like CanDeliver. I have heard criticism from the business sector that it was inappropriate to have a former - - -

Mr Quinlan: He meant well.

MR HUMPHRIES: He meant well. Well, that seems to be the message that we got from the individual concerned. He indicated that the presence of a former member of the Assembly on the board and a former senior public servant in the form of the chief executive were inappropriate kinds of key personnel to have on a body which was basically operating in the private sector.

Mr Quinlan: That was his back-off position. He started off bagging the lot.

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