❓ An inquiry into the allocation and oversight of $2.6 million in taxpayer funds granted to Carnegie for the Albany Wave Energy project, focusing on expenditure purpose, auditing, and potential recovery of funds/assets in case of insolvency.
AnsweredQoN 4414Legislative Assembly
Asked
29 November 2018
Member
Portfolio
Regional Development; Agriculture and Food; Minister Assisting the Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Albany Wave Energy project, and ask: (a) For what purpose is the $2.6m of taxpayer funds given to Carnegie going to be used; (b) Can the Minister confirm that none of the $2.6m of taxpayer funds given to Carnegie will be used for operational funding for Carnegie Clean Energy; (c) What auditing processes has Government (through the
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) engaged to ensure the full extent of the $2.6m of taxpayer funds given to Carnegie will be used for the purposes for which it has been given; (d) Can the Government recover any unspent taxpayer funds (of the $2.6) should Carnegie go into Administration; and (e) Can Government recover any items of capital infrastructure funded by the $2.6m of taxpayer funds should Carnegie go into Administration?
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) engaged to ensure the full extent of the $2.6m of taxpayer funds given to Carnegie will be used for the purposes for which it has been given; (d) Can the Government recover any unspent taxpayer funds (of the $2.6) should Carnegie go into Administration; and (e) Can Government recover any items of capital infrastructure funded by the $2.6m of taxpayer funds should Carnegie go into Administration?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
12 February 2019
Responded by
Minister representing the Minister for Regional Development; Agriculture and Food; Minister Assisting the Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade
Response time
1 days
(a) As required under clause 1 of Schedule 4 to the Financial Assistance Agreement (FAA), Carnegie must use the funding to carry out the Project and for no other purpose. To-date, eligible expenditure incurred has included site development activities and technology development costs.
(b) Refer to (a). As set out within clause 3 of Schedule 4 to the FAA, Carnegie’s payroll and administrative expenses associated with the Project are excluded from the funding and will be met, in their entirety, by Carnegie.
(c) Prior to receipt of the $2.625 million payment from the State Government, Carnegie supplied detailed breakdowns of Project expenditure to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and is now required to report on expenditure from this funding on a quarterly basis. Carnegie is also required to supply an annual report which is certified by its Chief Financial Officer and audited by an independent auditor. Carnegie has confirmed to DPIRD that it is maintaining a separate bank account exclusively to receive WA State Government funding for the Project. Under the terms of the FAA, the State may in its absolute discretion, carry out specific audits on the Project at any time. At the conclusion of the project or upon a written request from the Department or upon earlier termination of the FAA, a final report is required to be submitted which contains a financial report that certifies that the funding was used for the Project and confirming the amount of funding spent. This final report is also required to be independently audited.
(d) As provided for within clauses 11.2 and 11.3 of the FAA, should the Recipient be subject to an Insolvency Event, the State would be entitled to terminate the FAA, following which the Recipient must remit to the State all funding that has not been spent or committed in accordance with the FAA and any interest accrued on that funding by the termination date.
(e) No items of capital infrastructure have been funded by the $2.625 million.
(b) Refer to (a). As set out within clause 3 of Schedule 4 to the FAA, Carnegie’s payroll and administrative expenses associated with the Project are excluded from the funding and will be met, in their entirety, by Carnegie.
(c) Prior to receipt of the $2.625 million payment from the State Government, Carnegie supplied detailed breakdowns of Project expenditure to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and is now required to report on expenditure from this funding on a quarterly basis. Carnegie is also required to supply an annual report which is certified by its Chief Financial Officer and audited by an independent auditor. Carnegie has confirmed to DPIRD that it is maintaining a separate bank account exclusively to receive WA State Government funding for the Project. Under the terms of the FAA, the State may in its absolute discretion, carry out specific audits on the Project at any time. At the conclusion of the project or upon a written request from the Department or upon earlier termination of the FAA, a final report is required to be submitted which contains a financial report that certifies that the funding was used for the Project and confirming the amount of funding spent. This final report is also required to be independently audited.
(d) As provided for within clauses 11.2 and 11.3 of the FAA, should the Recipient be subject to an Insolvency Event, the State would be entitled to terminate the FAA, following which the Recipient must remit to the State all funding that has not been spent or committed in accordance with the FAA and any interest accrued on that funding by the termination date.
(e) No items of capital infrastructure have been funded by the $2.625 million.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.