Page 3005 - Week 08 - Thursday, 25 June 2009
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government’s approach to this is clearly enunciated in procurement circular 2007/21—“Probity and ethical behaviour”. The probity and ethical behaviour principle has two key aspects: the behaviour of public servants in conducting procurement, and the behaviour of suppliers engaged in the territory.
All public servants performing procurement duties for a territory entity must perform the task honestly and without favour or prejudice, spend public money efficiently and effectively and in accordance with the law and government policy and deal fairly, impartially and consistently with suppliers, keep confidential all sensitive information obtained as part of the procurement activity, not have an actual conflict of interest in relation to the procurement activity and not seek or accept any remuneration, gift, advantage or other benefit except as may be allowed in the normal course of their duties. All prospective tenderers should be treated consistently and equitably in accordance with these procedures.
Decisions should be made in a transparent manner that allows them to be understood and justified from the outset. The process, therefore, should be carefully documented from the beginning of the procurement process. Officers engaged in procurement are to employ and display the highest level of ethical behaviour. Ethical behaviour should be fundamental in guiding officers in all aspects of procurement activities.
In broad terms, ethical behaviour encompasses the concepts of honesty, integrity, probity, diligence, fairness, trust, respect and consistency. If we consider an example from an education perspective, parents want to know how their son or daughter is tracking. They want to know whether the school excels in history or maths and the areas where a school needs to improve. This government is conscious of the need to consult and negotiate with the community to find out the best way to provide exactly the information parents want.
The Minister for Education and Training recently wrote to all government and non-government school communities asking them about the type of report which best provides the information they are looking for. He expects to receive the report on their feedback by the beginning of July and will use this report to help decide the format of the 2009 NAPLAN report for ACT students. The 2009 report will be based on data that is valid and reliable. It will balance the community’s right to know with the need to avoid misuse and misinterpretation of information. It will consider the community’s views.
In relation to industrial relations, the government is committed to open and fair negotiations in making enterprise bargaining agreements which contain pay and conditions of service for territory employees. These industrial negotiations recognise good faith bargaining principles enshrined in federal legislation—that is, the Workplace Relations Act and the Fair Work Act when it becomes operational on 1 July 2009. During enterprise bargaining negotiations it is necessary for the government to maintain some degree of confidentiality—for example, to ensure that government as employer maintains its prerogative to determine appropriate resourcing and take relevant budgetary decisions.
The government has established consultative structures, including the joint council and agency consultative committees, which meet regularly to consult about
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