Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science) Share this | Hansard source

Governments and public servants in this country must give Australian industry a fair go. A recent disturbing example is that of Victoria Police's recent decision to lock out Australian manufacturers from a contract worth almost $1 million to supply police uniforms—uniforms that, I am told, could have been produced in Australia at a significantly cheaper price and of superior quality. When government departments sneakily gift government contracts to foreign companies and seek exemption to prevent open competition and lock out local firms, there are many questions that need to be answered.

This was a decision made by the bureaucracy and trying to get answers out of them was like hitting your head against a brick wall. I did try to get answers from the minister's office. I am sure he shares my recollection that his office would provide full answers to my queries about why and how the police shirt tender was secretly given to a foreign company without an option for locals to tender. Just as I criticised the federal Labor Party for awarding contracts that facilitated Australia's Defence Force camouflage fabric to be made overseas, so too I am concerned about this particular government tender. I had no option but to pursue answers through the FOI process.

As the shadow minister for industry, I have been fighting to give Australian industry a fair go, to cut regulation, to stop the carbon tax and to apply the same standards to foreign companies as we apply to Australian companies. Although governments cannot control the state of their economy, government actions can severely affect Australian business. Government procurement is a significant area where governments can put into practice what they preach—that is, operate in an open market with equal access and fair competition. The bureaucracy is there to serve the people and the parliament is the voice of the people. Policy cannot and should not be dictated to by the bureaucrats. There are clear and inherent problems with the procurement processes within Victoria Police that I believe only a political solution will solve.

Suspicions were raised that something was not quite right when my FOI request arrived some 20 days after Victoria Police's own deadline as stated in their own FOI policy. The delay was blamed on the basis that they were seeking legal advice, but 64 days seems like a long time to seek legal advice. The response is deficient and raises more questions than it answers. Some statements made in the certificate to exempt Victoria Police from standard procurement processes are questionable, some are inaccurate and some are just plain wrong. For example, why did Victoria Police procurement inform local manufacturers Bruck Textiles on or about 5 July that there were no contracts for the interim supply of shirts, when a certificate of exemption was sought and approved on 15 April, almost three months earlier? Victoria Police say the rationale for bypassing an open tender was: 'presence of supplier or supplies with a particular product or highly specialised skills.' This is an absolutely extraordinary claim for Victoria Police to make. It implies that there are no fabric or garment companies in Australia who could achieve the same quality or service as an offshore equivalent. Is it honestly the opinion of Victoria Police that no other company in Australia can manufacture fabric and garments of the quality of a Chinese manufacturer?

On what basis have Victoria Police made this statement? If they honestly believe this is the case then they have nothing to fear from an open tender process. Victoria Police stated that the company chosen for the contract currently manufactures and supplies Yakka who, in turn, undertake the offshore manufacturing of shirts for the police. I am informed that Yakka have never used fabrics supplied by this company to manufacture shirts for Victoria Police. If this is the case then the whole basis of Victoria Police's rationale is an untruth. This is incredibly concerning and I will be taking this matter further.

It was just two years ago that the Victorian Ombudsman found a lack of oversight, controls and due process in Victoria Police's tendering and contracting. The report also found significant conflicts of interest, confusion over public service discipline and questionable investigative methods. Of course, this was under the previous state Labor government. There is a clear history of dysfunction within Victoria Police's tendering and contracting. This dysfunction can only be remedied by political action. Nothing less is acceptable to Australian industry because it is time for politicians and not bureaucrats to run the show.

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