Page 561 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 17 February 2016
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Partnerships framework: guidelines for public private partnerships was developed to provide guidance on the procurement of public infrastructure. This is a publicly available policy document, and it adheres to the national public-private partnerships guidelines and links to existing ACT policy on capital procurement and funding.
The partnerships framework is about encouraging private sector investment in social and economic infrastructure where value for money for the ACT government can be clearly demonstrated by way of efficient and innovative delivery approaches. Further to this, it ensures that accountability and fairness are maintained through the procurement and delivery process while maximising value for money to the ACT and staying within the government’s affordability envelopes.
A long-term contract with a PPP means two parties entering negotiations and contractual arrangements without third-party influence to deliver a project that is efficient, cost-effective and completed within a stated time frame. The cost of a PPP is only incurred by the government through the availability payment once the project is complete.
At 6 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly having been put and negatived, the debate was resumed.
MR CORBELL: The journey of the past two years in the development of capital metro has seen intensive planning and preparation. Recently announcing the chosen consortium should not be wasted by the tactics posed by those opposite.
It is interesting that Mr Coe seeks to frame all of the decision-making in the context of the election process. He says that the government should wait for the election to proceed with light rail because we should be confident that it is an election winner. That speaks volumes as to how he views this whole process. He views it through the prism of an election. But government is about governing. Parties are elected to government to do things they said they would do before the last election. Governments are elected to get things done, and that is exactly what this government will do.
To release information before the finalisation of contractual discussions under the PPP framework could have far-reaching consequences and could sabotage the reputation of the territory as a place to do business. The point of a public-private partnership is that it creates efficient and productive working relationships between the public and private sectors. It provides a greater return of investment compared to traditional methods, due to innovative design and financing approaches, a faster project completion, and reduced delays on infrastructure projects.
That is demonstrated by the outcomes the government has been able to deliver through the PPP bidding process for Canberra Metro. Firstly, the capital delivery cost is less—significantly less—than that stated in the prudent and conservative assessments made in the government’s own business case. But secondly, it is also going to be able to be delivered sooner. The construction period is shorter than that stated in the government’s estimate in its business case. This speaks to the success of
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