Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment Participation, Senator Arbib. Can the minister explain what weighting was given to past performance in the government’s $4.9 billion tender for the purchasing of employment services and how this was measured? Further, was any consideration given to departmental star ratings, a measure given to determine performance?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bernardi for taking an interest in jobs. He has been interested in one person’s job, which is the Leader of the Opposition’s, but it is good to see—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just address the question, Senator.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I say to Senator Bernardi: yes, the star ratings were taken into consideration in relation to the weighting. At the same time as that, the model has been constructed by the department and they have done the work in relation to the tender, in consultation with the industry, with the sector and of course with NESA.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! If there is going to be constant interjection we will call question time to a halt until we get silence so the senator can answer the question in silence.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. Eighty-five per cent of successful providers were ranked at 3.5 stars or above in the area of expertise, which is a far preferable position to that of the previous government, which, by rolling over 95 per cent of the business in 2006, allowed job seekers to languish with some providers whose performance was well below par. I am confident that the job the department has done in relation to the structuring of the system, of Job Services Australia, and also in relation to the weighting of the tender has been done properly and correctly. In the end, it will be in the interests of the job seekers, because that is what Job Services Australia is about—actually putting the interests of job seekers first, especially job seekers who come from a disadvantaged background and have been long-term unemployed.

It is not just that that we are doing, Senator Bernardi; we also have the Innovation Fund. There is $41 million for looking at innovative ideas to create jobs. We have the Jobs Fund. I have to say thank you to the Greens, Senator Fielding and also Senator Xenophon for ensuring that that Jobs Fund passed through the Senate. That will mean real work and real employment, not training for— (Time expired)

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his answer. In giving his answer, he did acknowledge that star ratings were taken into account. So I ask the Minister for Employment Participation how he can explain why Mission Australia will be forced to close their employment services site in Port Augusta, which was most recently rated as 4½ stars out of five?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bernardi, this was a competitive tender process. I think you may forget this on the other side of the chamber, but it was actually based on the model that you put in place yourselves—a competitive model that you put in place while you were in government. So you may want to consider that. The tender and the tender documents were all done at arm’s length from the minister by the department. Star ratings were taken into account, and I will reiterate that, but again it was done by the department, not by the minister and certainly not by the government. We think we have the balance right. This will provide a personalised service for job seekers. On top of that, just remember that through the jobs and training compact people who are made redundant will now have immediate access to Job Services Australia, which was not the case under the coalition. (Time expired)

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Despite the rhetoric, it is clear that the government has failed to reward and measure past performance and, as a result, organisations such as Mercy Employment, which recently received a four-star rating for their site in Fremantle, will also be forced to close on 30 June. The question is: when will the minister and the Rudd Labor government concede they have completely bungled the $4.9 billion contract for the purchasing of employment services, leaving thousands of unemployed Australians in the lurch?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bernardi is right—this was a competitive process, and obviously there are some organisations that unfortunately have missed out. That is what happens in a competitive process and it is unfortunate. Many of these organisations are community organisations, and that is also unfortunate. But can I just make these points. The government has put in place an agency adjustment fund to help those community organisations that have missed out. To our knowledge, something like $100,000 is going to many of those organisations that have missed out, to assist them to make a transition and to assist them to move into other areas. At the same time as that, many of these organisations are applying for funding from the Innovation Fund. They are also applying under the Jobs Fund for actual programs. So, while they may have missed out on Job Services Australia, they may actually get work under other areas or may subcontract. (Time expired)