Page 1830 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 May 2013

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pedestrian issues and general safety issues in the community, and we will take this opportunity as well. But if you want the community to take this seriously and you want members to take this seriously, there has to be a genuine undertaking that the government and the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services are also going to take it seriously.

We will support this, not because we necessarily have confidence that the government will take the committee’s report seriously but because we think we owe it to the various community groups out there to give them another opportunity to say what they have been saying for many years but this time to have it in Hansard.

Amendment agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Public Accounts—Standing Committee

Statement by chair

MR SESELJA (Brindabella): Pursuant to standing order 246A, I wish to make a statement on behalf of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts relating to reportable contracts under section 39 of the Government Procurement Act.

The Government Procurement Act 2001 was recently amended to require agencies to provide the public accounts committee with a list of “reportable contracts” every 12 months, rather than six months. The new reporting period took effect from 1 April 2012 and ended on 31 March 2013.

Reportable contracts are defined, with some exceptions, as procurement contracts over $25,000 that contain confidential text. Agencies provide the committee with the names of the contracting parties, the value of the contract and the nature of the contract.

The committee welcomes the change in the reporting time frame and, whilst acknowledging that the information directors-general and equivalents provide in relation to reportable contracts is readily available in the public domain on the ACT government contracts register, its role with regard to scrutiny is assisted by receiving a consolidated report every 12 months.

The committee has been provided with a consolidated list of reportable contracts for the new 12-monthly period from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.

As per its previous practice, the committee believes that there is value in tabling a consolidated list of reportable contracts for the period specified as a transparency mechanism to promote accountability.

I therefore seek leave to table the list of reportable contracts for the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 as received by the public accounts committee.

Leave granted.


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