❓ Mr. Love questions the value of the Treasury representative on the Gold Corporation board given the Treasurer's late awareness of the Perth Mint's doping program. The Treasurer defends the representative's role and clarifies the nature of the issue, stating it was rectified and hasn't impacted sales.
AnsweredQoN 104Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GOLD CORPORATION — TREASURY REPRESENTATIVE
104. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Treasurer:
I refer to the fact that the
Treasurer's department has a representative on the board of the Gold
Corporation. Given the recent revelations of the doping program at the Perth
Mint dating back to 2018 and the fact that the Treasurer has claimed not to
know about these matters until 6 March, does the Treasurer see any point in
having that representative on the board if they are not providing him with
advice or information relevant to his risk and the governance of the
organisation?
104. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Treasurer:
I refer to the fact that the
Treasurer's department has a representative on the board of the Gold
Corporation. Given the recent revelations of the doping program at the Perth
Mint dating back to 2018 and the fact that the Treasurer has claimed not to
know about these matters until 6 March, does the Treasurer see any point in
having that representative on the board if they are not providing him with
advice or information relevant to his risk and the governance of the
organisation?
AnswerView source ↗
As I understand it, there has always
been a Treasury representative on the board of the Perth Mint; it may well be a
requirement by law. That is to ensure that central government agencies have
knowledge of the matters that the Mint is involved in.
As I explained to the Leader of the
Opposition before, the issue identified by Four Corners was rectified as
soon as it was brought to our attention. Essentially, there was two parts per
100 000 more silver in a gold bar than the Shanghai
Gold Exchange would like, even though the amount of gold in the gold bar
exceeded international standards . That is what it was; that was the
issue. The two parts per 100 000 of silver would ordinarily be copper or lead
in a bar of gold going to Shanghai. It was
not actually a reduction in the amount of gold. Ordinarily, it would be copper or lead. Now, I was surprised, because I thought silver was of a higher value
than copper or lead—I am pretty sure that is right—but that is
the unique requirement of the Shanghai Gold Exchange. When it was identified
that that needed to be fixed, the Perth Mint fixed it. Since then, the Shanghai
Gold Exchange has bought tonnes of gold from the Perth Mint.
been a Treasury representative on the board of the Perth Mint; it may well be a
requirement by law. That is to ensure that central government agencies have
knowledge of the matters that the Mint is involved in.
As I explained to the Leader of the
Opposition before, the issue identified by Four Corners was rectified as
soon as it was brought to our attention. Essentially, there was two parts per
100 000 more silver in a gold bar than the Shanghai
Gold Exchange would like, even though the amount of gold in the gold bar
exceeded international standards . That is what it was; that was the
issue. The two parts per 100 000 of silver would ordinarily be copper or lead
in a bar of gold going to Shanghai. It was
not actually a reduction in the amount of gold. Ordinarily, it would be copper or lead. Now, I was surprised, because I thought silver was of a higher value
than copper or lead—I am pretty sure that is right—but that is
the unique requirement of the Shanghai Gold Exchange. When it was identified
that that needed to be fixed, the Perth Mint fixed it. Since then, the Shanghai
Gold Exchange has bought tonnes of gold from the Perth Mint.
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