❓ A parliamentary question probes the awarding of a tender for 1080 dried meat baits, raising concerns about conflicts of interest, information sharing, past misconduct of the successful applicant, and potential breaches of the Poisons Act. The Minister's response addresses each concern, providing explanations and audit results.
AnsweredQoN 3868Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the tender for 1080 Dried Meat Baits Tender CLA-201401 which was awarded to Animal Pest Management Services (APMS) and ask: (a) did the selection panel for this tender include any former colleagues of current staff at APMS: (i) if so, did any members of the selection panel disclose that relationship; and (ii) did any members exclude themselves from the selection panel on that basis, if not, why not; (b) was any advice or information given to APMS while this tender was still open which was not given to other tender applicants; (c) was the selection panel aware that the successful tender applicant had previously been found guilty by the Training and Accreditation Council of providing fraudulent certificates of staff training back in 2013, in breach of the Vocational Education and Training Act (1996) and the Poisons Act which requires staff using poisons to be trained; (d) has the Department of Agriculture and Food thoroughly investigated claims that APMS potentially breached the Poisons Act of 1964 for allegedly selling 1080 baits without permits, selling illegal fox baits and live baiting dogs: (i) if so, what was the outcome of these investigations; and (ii) if so, was the selection panel aware of these investigations and the outcome of the investigation; (e) will the Minister table a copy of the audit which was conducted into this particular tender process; and (f) will the Minister review this tender?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
5 May 2015
Responded by
Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture and Food
Response time
41 days
(a) The selection panel for the expression of interest (EOI) process did include one Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA) staff member who was employed by DAFWA at the same time that a staff member of Animal Pest Management Services (APMS) was employed by DAFWA. At that time, both staff members worked in different sections and locations.
(i) This situation of being co-workers at a time in the past (more than 15 years previous) was recognised but not considered to be a conflict of interest.
(ii) Each panel member signed a declaration of confidentiality and interest before the EOI process. This is a standard declaration from the Department of Finance. The declaration requires panel members to disclose immediate family but not prior work colleagues. Exclusion of panel members on the basis of long past common employment was not considered to be required.
(b) Advice provided to APMS during the EOI process was about clarification of selection criteria. This opportunity was available to all applicants. No information was provided to APMS that was not available to other applicants.
(c) Each applicant was assessed against a set of criteria required to successfully undertake the manufacture of dried meat baits. I understand that the allegation in the question was not in front of the assessment panel.
(d) DAFWA has investigated claims of breaching the
Poisons Act of 1964
.
(i) Correspondence sent from the Minister of Health to the Minister for Agriculture and Food advised that the Department of Health investigated this complaint of breaching the
Poisons Act of 1964
and found no evidence to substantiate the allegations.
(ii) The selection panel was made aware of these investigations. The final stage of DAFWA signing the Licence Contract for both APMS and the other successful candidate, Animal Control Technologies Australia, was suspended until the EOI process had been internally audited.
(e) An internal audit of the EOI for dried meat baits was conducted by DAFWA, and comments from the review were followed up on in 2014. The review and review comments are attached [see tabled paper no.].
(f) The Minister will not conduct another review on the EOI for dried meat baits.
(i) This situation of being co-workers at a time in the past (more than 15 years previous) was recognised but not considered to be a conflict of interest.
(ii) Each panel member signed a declaration of confidentiality and interest before the EOI process. This is a standard declaration from the Department of Finance. The declaration requires panel members to disclose immediate family but not prior work colleagues. Exclusion of panel members on the basis of long past common employment was not considered to be required.
(b) Advice provided to APMS during the EOI process was about clarification of selection criteria. This opportunity was available to all applicants. No information was provided to APMS that was not available to other applicants.
(c) Each applicant was assessed against a set of criteria required to successfully undertake the manufacture of dried meat baits. I understand that the allegation in the question was not in front of the assessment panel.
(d) DAFWA has investigated claims of breaching the
Poisons Act of 1964
.
(i) Correspondence sent from the Minister of Health to the Minister for Agriculture and Food advised that the Department of Health investigated this complaint of breaching the
Poisons Act of 1964
and found no evidence to substantiate the allegations.
(ii) The selection panel was made aware of these investigations. The final stage of DAFWA signing the Licence Contract for both APMS and the other successful candidate, Animal Control Technologies Australia, was suspended until the EOI process had been internally audited.
(e) An internal audit of the EOI for dried meat baits was conducted by DAFWA, and comments from the review were followed up on in 2014. The review and review comments are attached [see tabled paper no.].
(f) The Minister will not conduct another review on the EOI for dried meat baits.
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