❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks transparency regarding a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for new public schools, focusing on financial details, contract terms, and performance indicators. The government's response indicates limited commitment to full public disclosure, citing commercial confidentiality.
AnsweredQoN 3749Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the State Government’s planned Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the design and construction of eight new public schools and the Minister’s announcement on 30 January 2015 that three private consortiums have been asked to provide costed proposals for the schools, with the winning consortium to be announced in August 2015, and ask: (a) will the State Government seek a limit on the internal rate of return to be earned by the winning consortium; (b) after the contract is awarded, will the contract between the consortium and the State Government be released to the public in full; (c) after the contract is awarded, will the following details concerning the winning consortium be made public: (i) the consortium’s expected Internal Rate of Return (IRR) on this project; (ii) the expected Net Present Value (NPV) of the cashflows to the winning consortium; (iii) a schedule of payments to be made by the State Government, with taxpayers’ money, to the consortium over the 25 year contract period; and (iv) details relating to the premature termination of the contract and any payments for which the State would be liable in such an event; (d) when will members of the public have access the underlying calculations and assumptions behind a risk-adjusted public sector comparator; (e) when will the Minister disclose all of the key performance indicators that will be used to measure the winning consortium's performance against this contact; (f) when will the Minister commit to disclosing the total cost of capital for the winning consortium; and (g) are there going to be any clauses in the agreement between the consortium and the State Government that allow for variation to the payment schedule and if so, when will the Minister commit to making them publicly available in full?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
22 April 2015
Responded by
Minister representing the Minister for Treasurer
Response time
41 days
(a) No. The selection of the consortium to deliver the WA Schools Public Private Partnership (PPP) project is an open and competitive process and as such the bidding consortia will be subject to competitive pressures to provide proposals that achieve a value for money outcome for the State.
(b) No. Consistent with well-established practice, non-confidential elements of the contract will be published on the Department of Treasury (Treasury) website within six months from contract award in accordance with Treasury's PPP Project Disclosure Policy.
The redaction of commercially confidential elements is also consistent with the Opposition's handling of such matters, such as the redacted copy of the CBD Courts PPP Agreement tabled in 2005.
(c) The full extent of information to be published is dependent on agreement on which elements of the PPP contract are deemed to be commercial‑in‑confidence and thus cannot be determined until the contract is awarded.
(d) Consistent with Treasury's public sector comparator policy, the risk-adjusted public sector comparator (net present cost) together with key assumptions is expected to be published as part of the project summary published on Treasury's website within six months from contract award.
(e) Consistent with well-established practice, non-confidential elements of the contract, including the approach to measure the winning consortium's performance will be published on Treasury's website within six months from contract award in accordance with Treasury's PPP Project Disclosure Policy.
(f) Please see responses to parts (b) and (c) above.
(g) It is anticipated that the non-confidential elements of the contract, including clauses that allow for variation of the payment schedule, will be published on Treasury's website within six months from contract award, in accordance with Treasury's PPP Project Disclosure Policy.
(b) No. Consistent with well-established practice, non-confidential elements of the contract will be published on the Department of Treasury (Treasury) website within six months from contract award in accordance with Treasury's PPP Project Disclosure Policy.
The redaction of commercially confidential elements is also consistent with the Opposition's handling of such matters, such as the redacted copy of the CBD Courts PPP Agreement tabled in 2005.
(c) The full extent of information to be published is dependent on agreement on which elements of the PPP contract are deemed to be commercial‑in‑confidence and thus cannot be determined until the contract is awarded.
(d) Consistent with Treasury's public sector comparator policy, the risk-adjusted public sector comparator (net present cost) together with key assumptions is expected to be published as part of the project summary published on Treasury's website within six months from contract award.
(e) Consistent with well-established practice, non-confidential elements of the contract, including the approach to measure the winning consortium's performance will be published on Treasury's website within six months from contract award in accordance with Treasury's PPP Project Disclosure Policy.
(f) Please see responses to parts (b) and (c) above.
(g) It is anticipated that the non-confidential elements of the contract, including clauses that allow for variation of the payment schedule, will be published on Treasury's website within six months from contract award, in accordance with Treasury's PPP Project Disclosure Policy.
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