Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Certainly Senator Whish-Wilson is very prompt, given that I think the 30 days expired yesterday. The question does seek a large amount of detail from across government. In case the Senate is not aware, the government has been asked for a list of all clothing companies used by all government departments over the past three years and which companies supply the material—fabric, thread, buttons and zips—for government uniforms and the like. It is obviously a very substantial amount of information. We will certainly endeavour as quickly as possible to get Senator Whish-Wilson a response to the question.

I would make a couple of points in relation to the substantive core of the question. The first is that the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, for which the Finance portfolio is responsible, do require those making procurement decisions to ensure that they are using Commonwealth resources in an efficient, effective, economical and ethical manner that is not inconsistent with the policies of the Commonwealth. In addition, there is a specific obligation at paragraph 6.7

Agencies must not seek to benefit from supplier practices that may be dishonest, unethical or unsafe.

Under our devolved financial management framework, compliance with these rules is a matter for individual agency heads. The Department of Finance and Deregulation provides guidance and support for Commonwealth agencies in complying with those rules. That goes to some of the issues that were raised in the question. I will also ensure that, as quickly as is practicable, we provide a formal response to the senator.