❓ Mr. Tinley questions the Minister for Housing about the government's public housing maintenance contract and alleged privatisation failures. The Minister defends the scheme, refutes failure claims, and discusses an ongoing audit.
AnsweredQoN 150Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PUBLIC HOUSING —
MAINTENANCE CONTRACT
150. Mr P.C. TINLEY to the Minister for Housing:
I ask a supplementary question.
Noting the minister's answer and noting that he was the minister who
presided over the introduction of this very scheme, yet he outsourced all his
responsibility, what is he doing to extract the government from this failed
experiment in privatisation?
MAINTENANCE CONTRACT
150. Mr P.C. TINLEY to the Minister for Housing:
I ask a supplementary question.
Noting the minister's answer and noting that he was the minister who
presided over the introduction of this very scheme, yet he outsourced all his
responsibility, what is he doing to extract the government from this failed
experiment in privatisation?
AnswerView source ↗
I am not doing anything to extract it because I refute point
blank the assertion that it has failed. I am getting some more information from
the auditor, which is entirely appropriate. Last year I asked the department to
engage an external audit team to look at what happened in and around the head
contractor model because I had concerns —
Mr P.C. Tinley :
Will you table that report?
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : It is not finished yet. I heard the member say on the radio
last week that it was a disgrace that the head of the Department of Housing was
not at the briefing that the minister received from the auditor. I think the
member went on to say that he did not even think the head of the Department of
Housing had seen the report. Here are the facts. The head of the Department of
Housing sits on the department's internal audit committee. He received
a copy of the draft report some time ago. Here is another fact. I do not
apologise for the fact that if I ask some external auditors to look at the
agency, they would come and brief me in the absence of the director general of
that agency.
Mr
P.C. Tinley : Why won't you table the report when it's
finished?
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : There may be questions that I want to ask of the auditors
that would not be entirely appropriate to ask in the presence of the director
general. I am very comforted with that. I then met with the director general
after that.
I will return to the answer. I will
table the state's affordable housing strategy, which we released in the
middle of last year. It is an excellent document. When the member for Willagee
first got his position as shadow Minister for Housing, he appeared on Channel
Seven news on 1 February and said, ''We'll get it by building
more houses and by having an affordable housing strategy.'' I will table
that document. If the member for Willagee is the shadow Minister for Housing, I
would expect —
Mr
P.C. Tinley interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Willagee, you are getting answers to the questions you
asked —
Mr
P.C. Tinley : And then some.
The
SPEAKER : I formally call you to order for the first time today.
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : I will just close by saying something in relation to
maintenance. One thing that the member for Willagee can be sure of is that his
efforts to divert our asbestos fence replacement program will not be
successful. His asbestos fence will be replaced by a good maintenance program.
blank the assertion that it has failed. I am getting some more information from
the auditor, which is entirely appropriate. Last year I asked the department to
engage an external audit team to look at what happened in and around the head
contractor model because I had concerns —
Mr P.C. Tinley :
Will you table that report?
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : It is not finished yet. I heard the member say on the radio
last week that it was a disgrace that the head of the Department of Housing was
not at the briefing that the minister received from the auditor. I think the
member went on to say that he did not even think the head of the Department of
Housing had seen the report. Here are the facts. The head of the Department of
Housing sits on the department's internal audit committee. He received
a copy of the draft report some time ago. Here is another fact. I do not
apologise for the fact that if I ask some external auditors to look at the
agency, they would come and brief me in the absence of the director general of
that agency.
Mr
P.C. Tinley : Why won't you table the report when it's
finished?
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : There may be questions that I want to ask of the auditors
that would not be entirely appropriate to ask in the presence of the director
general. I am very comforted with that. I then met with the director general
after that.
I will return to the answer. I will
table the state's affordable housing strategy, which we released in the
middle of last year. It is an excellent document. When the member for Willagee
first got his position as shadow Minister for Housing, he appeared on Channel
Seven news on 1 February and said, ''We'll get it by building
more houses and by having an affordable housing strategy.'' I will table
that document. If the member for Willagee is the shadow Minister for Housing, I
would expect —
Mr
P.C. Tinley interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Willagee, you are getting answers to the questions you
asked —
Mr
P.C. Tinley : And then some.
The
SPEAKER : I formally call you to order for the first time today.
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : I will just close by saying something in relation to
maintenance. One thing that the member for Willagee can be sure of is that his
efforts to divert our asbestos fence replacement program will not be
successful. His asbestos fence will be replaced by a good maintenance program.
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