❓ Ms. Quirk questions the Minister for Finance about unpaid subcontractors on government projects, specifically referencing a broken promise and a fire station project. The Minister acknowledges the issue, cites a commissioned report, and defends the government's actions.
AnsweredQoN 144Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BUILDING MANAGEMENT AND WORKS — UNPAID
SUBCONTRACTORS
144. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Minister for Finance:
I refer to the government's broken promise to fix the
subcontractor payment issue raised numerous times in Parliament last year and
the Premier's comment, '' if the BMW is at fault, I'll
act.''
(1) Is the
minister aware that a subcontractor contracted to National Buildplan Group to
build Kiara fire station has not been paid?
(2) How will
the minister remedy this?
(3) If
subcontractors are still not being paid on projects managed by Building
Management and Works, how has the system been fixed?
SUBCONTRACTORS
144. Ms M.M. QUIRK to the Minister for Finance:
I refer to the government's broken promise to fix the
subcontractor payment issue raised numerous times in Parliament last year and
the Premier's comment, '' if the BMW is at fault, I'll
act.''
(1) Is the
minister aware that a subcontractor contracted to National Buildplan Group to
build Kiara fire station has not been paid?
(2) How will
the minister remedy this?
(3) If
subcontractors are still not being paid on projects managed by Building
Management and Works, how has the system been fixed?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
(1)–(3)
Firstly, we have not failed at any commitment. This is a very serious issue and
not one to be flippant about. In recent times an additional contractor to
Building Management and Works has gone into receivership and has left a number
of subcontractors without payment. That is putting extreme pressure on them and
their families. This is not a new issue. This has happened repeatedly in
history over the past three years and has been accentuated. There was a recent
one on 8 April this year—that is, National Buildplan that the member
referred to. That is why we commissioned the Small Business Commissioner back
in October 2012 to undertake an inquiry into this matter. We received his
report last month. It was delayed because of the election.
Ms M.M. Quirk : The Premier said that it
was in caretaker period, so it was in February.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : No, I received it a
month ago.
Ms M.M. Quirk : Where has it been in the
meantime?
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : It was in caretaker mode. Caretaker means there actually was
not a government.
Several members interjected.
Ms M.M. Quirk :
From March to May—March, April, May, minister.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Dr M.D. NAHAN : No,
last month. I received it a month ago and we are going through it in detail and
will have a response quickly.
Several members interjected.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : Let
me finish. This is an important issue. People's businesses, livelihoods
and families are on the line.
Ms M.M. Quirk :
Exactly.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : So,
let us do it.
The report looks at the extent of the issues and puts forward
recommendations. We will go beyond the recommendations in the report and look
at other measures that can be put in place. I might add that this issue is not
unique to Western Australia. A major inquiry in New South Wales finished in
November 2012 and another one in Queensland in December 2012 that looked at the
exact same issue. In New South Wales, a larger number of contractors went into
receivership, leading to the lack of payment to subbies reported to be in
excess of $1 billion. On 8 April another contractor went —
Mr P. Papalia :
What has this got to do with you failing to address it?
The SPEAKER :
Member for Warnbro!
Dr M.D. NAHAN : On
8 April another contractor, National Buildplan, which was building Kiara fire
station and which was administered by BMW, went into receivership.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
Are these subbies going to be paid?
Dr M.D. NAHAN :
That contract was let in June 2012. National Buildplan is a large builder
across the nation with only two projects in WA and hundreds over east. It was
assessed as a viable contractor. It was reassessed in December 2012. Before it
went into receivership on 8 April, the project was on budget and on time and
all the subbies were paid—no complaints.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Dr M.D. NAHAN : The
last payment of $300 000 would do. National Buildplan got into serious problems
over east and all its operations across the nation went into receivership.
Several members interjected.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : All
of them were put into receivership. Building Management and Works did its best
to vet and monitor it.
Opposition members: No, it didn't!
Dr M.D. NAHAN :
Yes, it did. The state cannot stop a business from going into receivership. The
state cannot stop a national building organisation from getting in trouble over
east and going into bankruptcy in the west and everywhere else. The Premier has
announced the report will be released in full for public consumption. We will respond
in full to the report and go beyond the recommendations of the report and
address the issues. This is a serious issue that requires a serious response
and that is what we are doing.
(1)–(3)
Firstly, we have not failed at any commitment. This is a very serious issue and
not one to be flippant about. In recent times an additional contractor to
Building Management and Works has gone into receivership and has left a number
of subcontractors without payment. That is putting extreme pressure on them and
their families. This is not a new issue. This has happened repeatedly in
history over the past three years and has been accentuated. There was a recent
one on 8 April this year—that is, National Buildplan that the member
referred to. That is why we commissioned the Small Business Commissioner back
in October 2012 to undertake an inquiry into this matter. We received his
report last month. It was delayed because of the election.
Ms M.M. Quirk : The Premier said that it
was in caretaker period, so it was in February.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : No, I received it a
month ago.
Ms M.M. Quirk : Where has it been in the
meantime?
Dr
M.D. NAHAN : It was in caretaker mode. Caretaker means there actually was
not a government.
Several members interjected.
Ms M.M. Quirk :
From March to May—March, April, May, minister.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Dr M.D. NAHAN : No,
last month. I received it a month ago and we are going through it in detail and
will have a response quickly.
Several members interjected.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : Let
me finish. This is an important issue. People's businesses, livelihoods
and families are on the line.
Ms M.M. Quirk :
Exactly.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : So,
let us do it.
The report looks at the extent of the issues and puts forward
recommendations. We will go beyond the recommendations in the report and look
at other measures that can be put in place. I might add that this issue is not
unique to Western Australia. A major inquiry in New South Wales finished in
November 2012 and another one in Queensland in December 2012 that looked at the
exact same issue. In New South Wales, a larger number of contractors went into
receivership, leading to the lack of payment to subbies reported to be in
excess of $1 billion. On 8 April another contractor went —
Mr P. Papalia :
What has this got to do with you failing to address it?
The SPEAKER :
Member for Warnbro!
Dr M.D. NAHAN : On
8 April another contractor, National Buildplan, which was building Kiara fire
station and which was administered by BMW, went into receivership.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
Are these subbies going to be paid?
Dr M.D. NAHAN :
That contract was let in June 2012. National Buildplan is a large builder
across the nation with only two projects in WA and hundreds over east. It was
assessed as a viable contractor. It was reassessed in December 2012. Before it
went into receivership on 8 April, the project was on budget and on time and
all the subbies were paid—no complaints.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Dr M.D. NAHAN : The
last payment of $300 000 would do. National Buildplan got into serious problems
over east and all its operations across the nation went into receivership.
Several members interjected.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : All
of them were put into receivership. Building Management and Works did its best
to vet and monitor it.
Opposition members: No, it didn't!
Dr M.D. NAHAN :
Yes, it did. The state cannot stop a business from going into receivership. The
state cannot stop a national building organisation from getting in trouble over
east and going into bankruptcy in the west and everywhere else. The Premier has
announced the report will be released in full for public consumption. We will respond
in full to the report and go beyond the recommendations of the report and
address the issues. This is a serious issue that requires a serious response
and that is what we are doing.
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.