Page 577 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 10 February 2009
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Paragraph 3.20 on page 29 states:
… and a lack of clear directions from the Shareholders, made it difficult for the Board to provide and commit to appropriate long-term business strategies to drive Rhodium in achieving the best outcome for the shareholders.
So we had an asset, the asset had potential, but instead of allowing it to reach its full potential, the shareholders failed. That is the problem with this whole Rhodium saga.
In the conclusion on page 32 the report states:
Further, the absence of clear directions by the ACT Government as Shareholders has created uncertainty and made it difficult for the Board to develop and implement any long-term strategic directions to drive Rhodium in achieving its business objectives.
Further, the absence of clear direction by the ACT government as shareholders had created uncertainty and made it difficult for the Board to develop any long-term strategic directions to drive Rhodium in achieving its business objectives.
The report is littered with examples of this government’s failures. If we have a government that cannot run a company or a territory owned corporation that was worth $5 million or $10 million or $15 million or whatever it was worth at the time, how do we expect them to properly manage their share of a $42 billion stimulus package, and, indeed, the ACT economy at all and deliver on the potential that lies within every ACT budget? That is the problem.
The observations on the role of the voting shareholders in the brief history of Rhodium Asset Solutions represent an indictment of their failure. I think we are all now aware of the issues relating to the management of the entity as a result of the Auditor-General’s report. The fundamental question, which has never been answered, and perhaps the minister would like to answer when she wraps up is: how did this mess happen? Where does the responsibility ultimately lie for this mess?
The Chief Minister and the Treasurer have failed to take any responsibility for the diabolical mess that is Rhodium Asset Solutions. I believe that it is self-evident that it must be the voting shareholders. They are the two who are responsible, under law, to provide directions. They should know their responsibilities. They are very, very special people in regard to this act, but they did nothing. We heard the Chief Minister deny any involvement by him in this mess. That is typical of him and it reinforces the many instances in which he has distanced, or sought to distance, himself from any responsibility for any of the messes that the government has managed to get itself into.
On page 25 the Auditor-General makes key findings about the shareholders’ role and the lack of strategic direction from the shareholders. The Auditor-General then draws conclusions about the actions of the voting shareholders and refers to:
… the absence of clear directions by the ACT Government as Shareholders has created uncertainty and made it difficult for the Board to develop and implement any long-term strategic directions …
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