STATE FLEET —
CARBON OFFSETS
1322. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Minister for Finance:
My question without notice is to the
Minister for Environment representing the Treasurer.
I refer to the Tenders WA website
and the $4.5 million contract awarded on 29 November 2018 for the provision of carbon
offsets, which asks the proponent to —
� create a panel of suitably
qualified carbon offset brokers/providers who will then be required to supply
carbon credit solutions to offset the greenhouse emissions of the WA Government
Fleet.
(1) Why was only
one of the four successful contractors a Western Australian company, and does
this represent a failure of the McGowan government's Western Australian
Jobs Act?
(2) What is the
estimated total annual value of carbon offsets to the greenhouse gas emissions of
the WA government fleet?
(3) Will all
carbon offsets for the government fleet be sourced from WA; and, if not, why
not?
(4) Does the
government have a policy regarding the procurement of carbon offsets; and, if
not, why not?
(5) If yes to
(4), will the minister please table it?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. I am answering this as the minister representing
the Minister for Finance, by the way.
(1) The contract
for provision of carbon offsets—request 2018/04988—was
advertised as an open public tender. Under the previous government, contracts
were awarded to suppliers based in China, Thailand and Germany, with the most
recent contract awarded to a Western Australia–based firm dated from 2008.
In this instance, only one Western Australian company submitted an offer. This
offer was accepted and the company is one of four that make up the panel of
suppliers for this contract.
(2) The current
annual emissions of the State Fleet vehicle fleet are estimated at 50 000
tonnes of CO2. The annual value of carbon offsets is dependent on
the market-based opportunities available at the time of purchase and can range
from $30 000 to $900 000.
(3) Carbon offset
purchases involve seeking quotes from panel suppliers at the time of purchase.
The final supplier will be selected on a value-for-money basis. The
availability of Western Australian–based carbon offsets can be limited,
which impacts local sourcing.
(4) Under
section 26AA(5) of the State Supply Commission Act 1991, the Department of
Finance State Fleet is obligated to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of the
vehicle fleet. This obligation will be met by a value-for-money procurement of
carbon offsets under the provision of carbon offsets panel contract as required
in line with State Supply Commission policies.
(5) Not
applicable.