19 August 2009
AUDITOR GENERAL RELEASES OPINION ON MINISTER’S DECISION
NOT TO TABLE FUEL CARD CONTRACT IN PARLIAMENT
The Auditor General of Western Australia is required under legislation to express an opinion as to whether
it is reasonable and appropriate for a Minister not to provide requested information to Parliament.
On 5 May 2009, the Minister for Regional Development made a decision not to table in Parliament (in
response to a request from the Member for Armadale) the Country Age Pension Fuel Card contract.
In his report tabled in Parliament today, Auditor General Colin Murphy has found the Minister’s decision
was ‘not reasonable and therefore was inappropriate’.
The report, entitled ‘Opinion on Ministerial Notification – Ministerial Decision to Not Provide Information
to Parliament – Country Age Pension Fuel Card’ found that the contract contained a specific provision for
disclosure upon request by Parliament and that there was no clear legal basis for the Minister to maintain
an obligation of confidence in relation to the contract.
Mr Murphy also found that the then Department of Local Government and Regional Development had
provided deficient advice to the Minister in regard to this matter. The advice was brief, lacked explanation
and was not based on documented and rigorous analysis.
The Department had advised the Minister that tabling the contract would cause commercial harm to
Retail Decisions, the company that had successfully tendered to supply the card.
The Minister for Regional Development subsequently tabled the contract on 18 June 2009.
The complete report can be downloaded from: http://www.audit.wa.gov.au/index.html
Ends/
|
