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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 170 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 1 June 2021 by Ms C.M. Tonkin

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT REFORM

170. Ms C.M. TONKIN to the Minister for Finance:

I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment to supporting Western Australian businesses in creating more jobs by cutting red tape and streamlining government procurement. Can the minister update the house on the implementation of the government's new procurement model and outline how this will make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses, including Aboriginal business and those in regional Western Australia, to work with government?

Dr A.D. BUTI replied:

I would like to thank the member for Churchlands for her question and her very strong interest in all things procurement, as being an expert in the area.

One of the first thing that the McGowan government did when it came to office in 2017 was commission the Service Priority Review and the Special Inquiry into Government Projects and Programs. That process found that the Barnett government had a system that could only be described as an absolute basket case. It had a system in which a business operator who might be supplying products or services to multiple government agencies had to go through a tendering process for each agency and different contract documents and contract management approaches. It was not very friendly for business operators to tender or to do work on government projects.

To the credit of the first-term McGowan government and the former Minister for Finance, a lot of work was done instigating reform in this area. I am very delighted today to announce the next step in our suite of reforms. Last year, as members know, we passed the Procurement Act 2020, which for the first time in Western Australia brought together goods, services and works under one piece of legislation. I am delighted also to be able to inform the house that the new Western Australian procurement framework comes into effect today, 1 June 2021. This will make it much, much easier for small and medium-sized business operators to do work with this state government. Under this framework, we will have consistent policies and practices across all government departments, making the landscape simpler and easier to navigate.

If I can refer to comments from the Civil Contractors Federation of WA, it states regarding the policies that we have brought in —

''This could be a game-changer that will reduce red tape, help create more long-term local jobs, and deliver greater value-for-money for taxpayers,'' �

It states also —

''Achieving standardised procurement practices right across Government will no doubt be a long and challenging journey, but the payoff will be worth it. Congratulations to the State Government for getting the ball rolling,'' �

That is absolutely fantastic.

I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the reform process, including those in industry, regional and peak organisations, the community services sector, practitioners, agency leaders from across the public sector, and all those who have been involved in this policy reform, including the previous Minister for Finance, the whole McGowan government, and everyone else involved.

The SPEAKER: The member for Vasse, with the last question.