Page 156 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 6 March 2007
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That this bill be agreed to in principle.
I am pleased to introduce the Government Procurement Amendment Bill 2007 for consideration by the Assembly. The bill seeks to amend the Government Procurement Act 2001.
Members of the Assembly may recall that on 23 November 2006 I reported to the Assembly on the outcomes of a review of the operation of the Government Procurement Act 2001. At that time, I tabled the review report and noted that the report’s recommendations had been developed in consultation with members of the Government Procurement Board, the Procurement Consultative Committee and the Auditor-General. I also advised the Assembly of the government’s acceptance of the review report’s recommendations and foreshadowed the introduction of amending legislation early in the new year to give effect to the government’s decisions.
The Government Procurement Amendment Bill 2007 delivers on that commitment. The bill details the legislative changes necessary to update the provisions of the Government Procurement Act 2001 and ensure the act’s continuing relevance. The proposed changes to the act and associated statutory instruments detailed in the Government Procurement Amendment Bill 2007 would:
• remove a range of unnecessary administrative obligations;
• improve the efficiency of relevant government operations;
• reduce the time frames for individual procurement activities; and
• maintain public accountability and the transparency of government procurement activities.
As members of the Assembly would be aware, the ACT has the most transparent and publicly accountable procurement framework in Australia, and this position will be maintained.
Key elements of the proposals in the bill include modifications to the role and functions of the Government Procurement Board. This includes giving the board a more strategic advisory role to government and removing its ability to make disallowable instruments and determine the regulatory framework faced by agencies. The government believes that this latter function is more appropriately discharged by the executive and the Legislative Assembly.
The bill provides that regulations or other disallowable instruments would be issued when required, including in relation to matters currently covered by procurement guidelines issued by the board. This change would include the responsible minister, the Treasurer, having the power to refer classes of procurement activities—for example, by type, risk profile or procurement proposals with an estimated value above a specified threshold level—to the board for review and a proposed power for ministers and chief executives to refer other individual proposals or procurement processes to the board for review and advice, where considered necessary. This latter
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