NBN procurement under question

The National Broadband Network (NBN) Co does not receive explicit guidance from the government on procurement, and according to some, it presents an opportunity for the opposition to hold them more accountable.

The NBN Co is governed by the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 and as a consequence is not currently subject to the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines. Government agencies like Departments are governed by a different set of rules – the Financial Management and Accountability Act.

The Finance Minister can, however, give directions to the directors on procurement practices. Nothing in the Statement of Expectations given to NBN Co prior to Christmas talked about procurement practices.

According to some critics, such as David Havyatt for ITNews, this is an area that Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull could shine light on.

“The opposition has an opportunity here – to hold the Government to account by ensuring the governance and oversight regimes for NBN Co are consistent with expectations of a 21st century Government Business Enterprise,” Havyatt said.

When questioned from the press about governance for NBN Co procurement, CEO Mike Quigley replied that he has “a lot of faith that the people employed in this company are honest, hardworking individuals. I don’t expect to have to sit on everyone’s shoulders.”

But Havyatt believes the opposition need to push the matter further and create some real parliamentary pressure.

“Turnbull and his colleagues need to do the hard yards of parliamentary scrutiny of actual legislation and get on with debating it rather than the filibustering and sound bite approach they’ve pursued so far”, he said.  

Read more here.