The ACT Property Council expresses its concerns regarding the March 2015 MOU requiring the ACT Government to refer tenderers to UnionsACT for regulation compliance assessments on all procurement projects.
The MOU stipulated that:
ACT Government agencies must decline to award a tender proposal for ACT Government works or services where a tenderer does not provide an undertaking in their submissions that it will comply with the relevant obligations…
“We have every confidence in the integrity of government officials making decisions about tenders—we don’t have the same confidence in external parties,” says Merlin Kong, Executive Director for the ACT Property Council.
”We support tender practices that require tenderers to have the capacity to complete a project as safely as can be reasonably expected. This is good for our local economy, industry, and the community.
“However, referrals as stipulated in this MOU, mean that commercial-in-confidence tender details can be undermined.
“We seek assurances from the Chief Minister that at no point in time were commercial terms revealed to UnionsACT for any procurement project.
Media contact: Merlin Kong |M 0429 579 972 |P 02 6276 3602 |E [email protected]