❓ Ms. Baker questions the Minister for Small Business regarding late bill payments by government agencies, particularly the SBDC, following an Auditor General's report. The Minister defends the government's record, citing improvements in payment times compared to the previous Labor government.
AnsweredQoN 231Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES — BILL PAYMENT
231. Ms L.L. BAKER to the
Minister for Small Business:
This week the Auditor General released a report that found
that government pays up to 30 per cent of its bills late. In November last
year, The West Australian reported
the minister as saying that he would put government agencies on notice to pay
bills on time.
(1) Did the
minister go into battle for small business and raise these issues with cabinet,
as he promised in November; and, if not, why not?
(2) Is the
minister concerned that government agencies do not take him seriously or follow
his directives to pay bills on time?
(3) Is the
minister concerned about his personal authority in his own portfolio given that
the Small Business Development Corporation was one of the worst agencies for
paying bills on time?
AGENCIES — BILL PAYMENT
231. Ms L.L. BAKER to the
Minister for Small Business:
This week the Auditor General released a report that found
that government pays up to 30 per cent of its bills late. In November last
year, The West Australian reported
the minister as saying that he would put government agencies on notice to pay
bills on time.
(1) Did the
minister go into battle for small business and raise these issues with cabinet,
as he promised in November; and, if not, why not?
(2) Is the
minister concerned that government agencies do not take him seriously or follow
his directives to pay bills on time?
(3) Is the
minister concerned about his personal authority in his own portfolio given that
the Small Business Development Corporation was one of the worst agencies for
paying bills on time?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
I thank the member for Maylands for this question. It is an excellent
opportunity to set the record straight. I start by saying that the survey done
by the Office of the Auditor General as to government departments that pay
invoices to businesses late was conducted between 1 January and 30 June last
year—some months before I made the commitment to raise this issue with
my colleagues. Therefore, we have to keep that in mind. I also point out the
fact that in the report, the Auditor General found that in 2007–08,
under the previous Labor government, 14 per cent of bills were paid late; under
our government, it is now down to 10 per cent. Therefore, we are certainly
bringing down the length of time that government departments take to pay
invoices. Of the 14 per cent that were late, especially in the Small Business
Development Corporation, a further six per cent were paid between day 30 and
day 35; therefore, between day 1 and day 35, 94 per cent of invoices are paid
by the Small Business Development Corporation. We are absolutely making inroads
into reducing the time that government departments take to pay invoices to the
private sector.
Another point is that although any
late payment is normally unacceptable, sometimes there are circumstances in
which government departments, in order to be prudent with taxpayers'
dollars, need to check certain goods to make sure that they are not
shortshipped and also ensure that contracts are adhered to in the supply of
goods and services to government departments. But the bottom line is that over
the last five years, we have seen a consistent decline in the amount of time it
takes government to pay its bills, and we are very proud of what we are doing
on this front. We will continue to work towards reducing that time even further.
I thank the member for Maylands for this question. It is an excellent
opportunity to set the record straight. I start by saying that the survey done
by the Office of the Auditor General as to government departments that pay
invoices to businesses late was conducted between 1 January and 30 June last
year—some months before I made the commitment to raise this issue with
my colleagues. Therefore, we have to keep that in mind. I also point out the
fact that in the report, the Auditor General found that in 2007–08,
under the previous Labor government, 14 per cent of bills were paid late; under
our government, it is now down to 10 per cent. Therefore, we are certainly
bringing down the length of time that government departments take to pay
invoices. Of the 14 per cent that were late, especially in the Small Business
Development Corporation, a further six per cent were paid between day 30 and
day 35; therefore, between day 1 and day 35, 94 per cent of invoices are paid
by the Small Business Development Corporation. We are absolutely making inroads
into reducing the time that government departments take to pay invoices to the
private sector.
Another point is that although any
late payment is normally unacceptable, sometimes there are circumstances in
which government departments, in order to be prudent with taxpayers'
dollars, need to check certain goods to make sure that they are not
shortshipped and also ensure that contracts are adhered to in the supply of
goods and services to government departments. But the bottom line is that over
the last five years, we have seen a consistent decline in the amount of time it
takes government to pay its bills, and we are very proud of what we are doing
on this front. We will continue to work towards reducing that time even further.
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