Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Watt, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) the Federal Government signed a contract with the company Paladin that originally cost the Australian taxpayer $423 million,

  (ii) Paladin was granted the contract – worth $20 million a month – without a competitive tender,

  (iii) when the Federal Government first signed the contract with Paladin, the company was based out of a beach shack on Kangaroo Island,

  (iv) this contract has been subject to an audit by Ernst & Young, and is currently the subject of an audit by the Auditor-General,

  (v) the Federal Government extended this contract in June for a further 6 months – increasing the total cost of the contract to the Australian taxpayer to over half a billion dollars, and

  (vi) this extension was granted despite:

(A) Paladin's managing director being removed from his duties after the firm failed to comply with a direction from the Department of Home Affairs,

(B) the contract being labelled 'high risk' by Ernst & Young, and

(C) Paladin being fined more than 3700 times in a 12 month period for failing to meet minimum service standards; and

(b) condemns the Federal Government for their incompetence in handling the Paladin contacts, and their contempt for the Australian taxpayer.