Showing posts with label government funding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government funding. Show all posts
Tuesday 25 June 2019
Will the Clarence Valley see an upgrade of Grafton Base Hospital within the next three years or will it take a decade to commence?
Grafton Base Hospital is a 50-99 bed public health facility which offers health services to an est. 51,647 resident population in the Clarence Valley on the NSW North Coast and an additional annual tourist population which can reach or exceed 1 million visitors.
In the first
quarter of 2019 ambulance arrivals at Grafton Hospital were up 11.5 per
cent, emergency department presentations rose by 3 per cent, emergency
presentations climbed by 4.2 per cent, hospital admissions increased by 14.9
per cent with acute admissions totalling 3,127 patients and the elective surgery
waiting times continued to grow.
In that same
quarter during the NSW state election campaign the Nationals MP for Clarence on
behalf of the Berejiklian Coalition Government promised
voters in the Clarence Electorate a much needed $263.8-million overhaul
of Grafton Hospital.
At the time
doubts were raised about the genuineness of this promise as it contained little
detail.
Those doubts
are now resurfacing……
The Daily Examiner, 21 June 2019, p.3:
A major hospital upgrade
looks to be a while off as the Clarence Valley joins the long queue of regions
promised big projects at the New South Wales election.
The $263million
commitment to the Grafton Base Hospital redevelopment was
made in the final weeks of the campaign in March and is just one of many major
infrastructure promises outlined in the 2019-20 Budget Papers.
However, there there was
no specific line item in the 2019-20 Budget and Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis was
quick to point out it would take time.
“It’s not a line item as
such as we are still in the very early planning stages but there is a
commitment for works to commence during this term of government,” he said.
“In the meantime,
consultation needs to occur between the LHD, clinicians and the community to
ensure the redeveloped hospital is able to provide for the community
into the future.”
Mr Gulaptis said he had
received assurances from Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Treasurer Dominic Perrotet
and Deputy Premier John Barilaro that all election commitments would be
honoured and provided a letter from Health Minister Brad Hazzard responding to
representations he made after winning the election.
In the letter, Mr
Hazzard said the project was one of many promised but work would still start
before the end of the current term of parliament.
“In the period prior to
the March election, the NSW Government announced a significant number of
upgrades to hospital and health facilities across the state,” he said.
“This requires a
prioritisation of when projects will commence over the next four years and will
occur in alignment with the annual budget process.
“Once funding is made
available through the budget process, Health Infrastructure will work with the
local health district and clinical staff to progress the project through the
planning stages.”......
Monday 24 June 2019
Is Australia really a fair and just country or is it nothing more than a collection of Scott Morrison clones?
In 2017-18 there
were on average 236
requests for housing assistance made every day which were not able to
be met by specialist homelessness agencies across Australia.
This figure
represents in excess of 86,000 requests for emergency housing assistance - from
individuals, couples, parents with small children and elderly Australians - which were not met in thatfinancial year.
Yet social
housing stocks does not appear to be keeping pace with population growth or the
needs of people living in insecure accommodation or existing on the street.
Social
housing as a share of all housing has been falling since the start of this
century and, in total state, territory and federal governments spent est. 2.1
per cent of total government expenditure on social housing and homelessness
services in both 2016-17 and 2017-18 according to the Productivity Commission's Reporton Government Services in 2018 & 2019.
Affordable
and available private rental is also in short supply.
Homelessness is not confined to the cities either. Here in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales there are hundreds of people without accommodation.
Homelessness is not confined to the cities either. Here in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales there are hundreds of people without accommodation.
By the end of 2018 the
Australian population had grown to over 25 million people and an estimated 190,000 were on social housing waiting lists.
The population now stands at an over 25,384,573, with est. one birth every 1 minute and 40 seconds, one death every 3 minutes and 19 seconds and one person arriving to live in Australia every 56 seconds,
The population now stands at an over 25,384,573, with est. one birth every 1 minute and 40 seconds, one death every 3 minutes and 19 seconds and one person arriving to live in Australia every 56 seconds,
At state, territory and federal levels government is well aware of the housing situation, yet Morrison
& Co in particular still describe calls for further spending on government
services such as housing as being calls based on the “politics of envy”.
These days I often read comments on social media asking when it was we stopped being a fair, just and kind country.
Well the truth is that Australia was never the fair, just and kind society we liked to think it was.
Just look at out history when it comes to Aboriginal Australia, children in institutional care, our aged and disability care systems and our treatment of refugees.
What governments since Federation have done is paper over the cracks between what we are and what we believe about ourselves. They did this by funding a wide range of government services to meet basic human needs like safety, shelter, food, education and health care.
Since 2013 the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has been walking away from adequately providing many of these basic services, by year in and year out failing to increase funding, reducing funding or cutting funding altogether.
BACKGROUND
These days I often read comments on social media asking when it was we stopped being a fair, just and kind country.
Well the truth is that Australia was never the fair, just and kind society we liked to think it was.
Just look at out history when it comes to Aboriginal Australia, children in institutional care, our aged and disability care systems and our treatment of refugees.
What governments since Federation have done is paper over the cracks between what we are and what we believe about ourselves. They did this by funding a wide range of government services to meet basic human needs like safety, shelter, food, education and health care.
Since 2013 the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has been walking away from adequately providing many of these basic services, by year in and year out failing to increase funding, reducing funding or cutting funding altogether.
BACKGROUND
This is what
the Australian
Parliamentary Library had to say on the subject of homelessness in
March 2018:
On 14 March
2018, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released their homelessness
estimates, based on the 2016 Census of Population and Housing.
Under the ABS definition, a person is homeless if they do not
have suitable accommodation alternatives and their current living arrangement:
is in a dwelling that is inadequate, or
·
has
no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable, or
·
does
not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations.
The key homelessness estimates from the 2016 Census are that:
·
there
were 116,427 people enumerated in the Census classified as being homeless on
Census night (up from 102,439 in 2011)
·
the
homelessness rate was 50 persons for every 10,000 persons—up five per cent from
the 48 persons in 2011, and up on the 45 persons in 2006
·
the
homelessness rate rose by 27 per cent in New South Wales, while Western
Australia fell 11 per cent and the Northern Territory and Australian Capital
Territory each fell by 17 per cent
·
most
of the increase in homelessness between 2011 and 2016 was reflected in people
living in 'severely' crowded dwellings, up from 41,370 in 2011 to 51,088 in
2016
·
the
number of people in supported accommodation for the homeless in 2016 was
21,235; almost unchanged from 2011
·
there
were 17,503 homeless people in boarding houses in 2016, up from 14,944 in 2011
·
the
number of homeless people in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out in
2016 was 8,200, up from 6,810 in 2011
·
people
who were born overseas and arrived in Australia in the last five years
accounted for 15 per cent (17,749 persons) of all persons who were homeless
·
the
rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who were homeless was
361 persons per 10,000 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population,
a decrease from 487 in 2011
·
the
number of homeless persons aged 55 years and over continued to increase, from
12,461 in 2006, to 14,581 in 2011 and 18,625 in 2016 (a 28 per cent increase
between 2011 and 2016). The rate of older persons experiencing homelessness has
also increased, from 26 persons per 10,000 of the population in 2011 up to 29
persons per 10,000 in 2016 and
·
the
male homelessness rate increased to 58 males per 10,000 males, up from 54 in
2011, while the rate for females remained steady at 42 per 10,000 females.
Severe crowding and social housing
As noted above, a
majority of the increase in homelessness between 2011 and 2016 was a result of
more Australians living in severely crowded dwellings. This was also the case
between the 2006 and 2011 Censuses.
While homelessness
is not just the result of too few houses, severe overcrowding does suggest that
there is a need for more housing that is affordable to low- to middle-income
earners, and social housing in particular. Social housing is housing that is
managed by either state and territory housing authorities or community housing
providers and made available at below market rates to people who are unable to
access suitable accommodation in the private rental market.
Despite Australia’s
social housing stock having grown over the years, this has not been at a rate
sufficient to keep pace with household growth and demand. As at 30 June 2017,
there were 189,404
applicants on the waiting list for social housing across
Australia. A significant proportion of these applicants are likely to be
households in greatest need—that is, households that are homeless, in housing
inappropriate to their needs or that is adversely affecting their health or
placing their life and safety at risk, or, have very high rental housing costs.
Severe overcrowding
is particularly prevalent among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,
with 70 per cent of homeless Indigenous Australians in this position. The
latest homelessness estimates indicate that the rate of homeless Indigenous
Australians fell between the 2011 and 2016 Censuses. If this rate is to
continue to fall then this may hinge to some extent on the outcome of negotiations currently
underway between the Australian Government and the states and territories over
Commonwealth funding for housing for Indigenous people following the expiry of
the National Partnership on Remote Housing in June 2018.
Homelessness by geography
In the linked
spreadsheet, the Parliamentary Library has compiled homelessness estimates by
ABS geographical areas and homelessness operational groups. Table 1 details
total homeless persons by Statistical Area 2. Table 2 sets out total homeless
persons by Statistical Area 3 and operational group.
Table 1 also
lists the Commonwealth electorate that is most aligned with each SA2.
Electorate estimates cannot be derived from this table.
Monday 3 June 2019
Even when trying to do the right thing are Morrison Government MPs hampered by the penny-pinching ways of their leader
Lismore
City Council, 9
April 2019:
As
a result of the significant flood event of April 2017 that impacted Lismore in
the wake of ex-tropical Cyclone Debbie, Lismore City Council was successful in
securing funding for the repair and remediation of a major landslip located at
Beardow Street, Lismore Heights.
The
initial works at an estimated and approved cost of $1.12 million were funded by
the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).
Contaminated
soil was discovered during the restoration process and the cost of remediation
is significantly greater than the currently available funding.
When
contamination was discovered, eligibility for compensation through the NDRRA
changed outside of Council’s control. Council was initially advised that the
remediation was eligible for NDRRA funding. This advice was rescinded in late
2018. Negotiations with State agencies continue on this matter and work has
stopped while funding issues are resolved.
The
area is still contaminated and material needs to be removed. A schedule of
works has been developed for full remediation of the site.
The
residents in the vicinity of the landslip rightly seek a resolution to the
issues associated with access to property, remediation, repairs to the landslip
and the lack of clarity around timeframe for completion.
Residents
have worked with Council to manage the issues and need closure. They are
acutely aware of the process Council needs to follow and have justifiably
reached a point where a solution is both required and demanded.
Council’s
estimated cost to complete the remediation works is an additional $2.4 million.
Council’s December 2018 quarterly budget review provides $700,000 to address
the remediation at Beardow Street. Council has been advised of an
alternate estimate to complete the works in the order of $5.7 million
undertaken by an affected landowner. To date Council has been unable to source
the estimated funding shortfall of $1.7 million from Government.
Council
is continuing to negotiate a funding outcome. Council held an emergency meeting
with Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) on Thursday, 14 March 2019 to find a
solution. RMS management attended the site on Tuesday, 19 March 2019 to
discuss options. A steering committee has been formed with Council and RMS
staff. RMS has made available their geotechnical and environmental specialists,
however no alternate solution has been recommended. RMS has made application to
the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) for a review of NDRRA eligibility. OEM
have escalated the matter to the Federal Government for review of eligibility,
however there is no guarantee of success and no time frame for a response. On
29 March 2019 RMS requested Council make application for a Specific
Purpose Grant. The outcome of this application is unknown.
The
nearest licenced disposal site for the asbestos contamination is in Queensland.
The Queensland waste levy comes into effect on 1 July 2019. The levy will add
$2 million to the cost of the project in contaminated soil disposal costs.
Council
has engaged litigation specialists to provide advice on NDRRA eligibility and
options to secure funding. The current advice is to commence with formal
correspondence to RMS and/or OEM. This action is underway.
The
solution proposed is for Council to obtain the required $1.7 million shortfall
from government. We require support from Council for the actions taken to date
as well as support for any legal proceedings instigated to recover the
restoration costs associated with this natural disaster event.
On
26 April 2019 during the recent federal election campaign The Northern Star
reported that all the candidates, including sitting Nats MP Kevin Hogan, had been asked to commit $10 million to fully
remediate this site.
On
27 May 2019 a Lismore journalist stated that Hogan has committed $2.4 million
to remediate the asbestos and chemical contaminated landslip. Although it was
not explained how he could do this when the new Lib-Nats Coalition Government is
weeks away from being sworn in by the Governor-General or why he was committing
to less than a quarter of the money requested.
Council is still considering instigating legal proceedings to progress the
eligibility of its initial claim for state funding.
Tuesday 7 May 2019
Lobby group giving farmers a bad name
The
Guardian, 2
May 2019:
The Queensland farm
lobby AgForce has deleted more than a decade worth of data from a government
program that aims to improve water quality in the Great Barrier
Reef, in response to state government moves to introduce new reef
protection laws.
Guardian Australia
revealed in June that the state’s auditor general had raised concerns that
agriculture industry groups had refused
to share data from the “best management practices” program due to privacy
concerns.
In recent months,
AgForce and others had campaigned against the imposition of new reef protection
regulations, which set sediment “load limits” in reef catchments and impose new
standards on farmers.
The proposed new laws,
which have been introduced to state parliament, also include a provision to
allow the environment minister to obtain data from agricultural groups……
The Queensland environment
minister, Leeanne Enoch, told the Courier-Mail the decision flushed “so much
work and the taxpayer dollars that have been supporting it out to sea”.
“AgForce often claims that they are true environmentalists but this decision is not the action of a group that wants to protect the environment,” she said.
“AgForce often claims that they are true environmentalists but this decision is not the action of a group that wants to protect the environment,” she said.
The Queensland audit
office last year found that the success of the best management practices
program could not be properly measured because the agricultural groups that
receive government funding would not provide data on whether producers had
actually improved their practices.
“This detailed
information is currently held by the industry groups,” the report said.
“Despite this work being funded by government, the information is not provided
to government due to privacy concerns from the industry.
“These data restrictions mean government does not have full visibility of the progress made and cannot measure the degree of practice change or assess the value achieved from its investment of public funds.
“These data restrictions mean government does not have full visibility of the progress made and cannot measure the degree of practice change or assess the value achieved from its investment of public funds.
“This means that the
reported proportion of lands managed using best management practice systems
could be overstated.”
Friday 22 February 2019
People in rural and regional Australia – those bearing the brunt of climate change, drought, floods, limited services and inadequate infrastructure – deserve to know how the Morrison Government is spending their hard-earned tax dollars
Scratch the
surface of that mismanaged super federal government department – the Dept. of Home Affairs in the portfolio
of Minister for Home Affairs & Liberal MP for Dickson Peter Dutton – and one finds disturbing information.
Usually this information concerns the abuse of detained asylum seekers' human rights, including right to timely medical treatment and legal advice/representation.
This latest concerns a corporate entity variously identified as the Paladin Group (Paladin Australia Pty
Ltd, formerly Paladin Group Pty Ltd, High Risk Security Group (Asia-Pacific)
Pty Ltd, Nepean Bay SA), Paladin
Solution PNG Ltd (Nepean Bay SA) and Paladin
Holdings PTE Ltd (Singapore) and its est. $423 million in federal government
contracts paid for from the taxpayer's dollar.
It is Paladin
Holdings PTE Ltd out of Singapore (reportedly owned by Craig Trupp and Ian
Stewart) which now appears to hold the primary government contract.
Despite Paladin's thin capitalisation, despite lack of corporate transparency, despite allegations of poor service delivery, despite Craig Trupp/s less than stellar business history and the fact that it appears he is no longer allowed entry to Papua New Guinea and despite another director of Paladin Solutions PNG Ltd allegedly being investigated for fraud/money laundering the Dept. of Home Affairs continues to make exclusive contacts with the Paladin Group.
Despite Paladin's thin capitalisation, despite lack of corporate transparency, despite allegations of poor service delivery, despite Craig Trupp/s less than stellar business history and the fact that it appears he is no longer allowed entry to Papua New Guinea and despite another director of Paladin Solutions PNG Ltd allegedly being investigated for fraud/money laundering the Dept. of Home Affairs continues to make exclusive contacts with the Paladin Group.
This Paladin
contract is fast shaping up as the new catchphrase for suspected political
corruption………..
Paladin premises, Port Moresby. Image Dan Ilic |
Financial
Review, 17
February 2019:
The family of one of
PNG's most powerful politicians is directly benefiting from Paladin's $423
million worth of security contracts on Manus Island, awarded by the federal
government in a closed tender.
Documents released under
Freedom of Information show in January last year Paladin Solutions PNG entered
into an agreement with Peren Investment, a company controlled by the brothers
of PNG's parliamentary speaker, Job Pomat.
Mr Pomat is the local
member for Manus, a key ally of Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and deputy leader
of the ruling People's National Congress. His family are among those who claim
traditional ownership of the land where the refugees are being housed.
The agreement, for local
employment and the provision of other services, came just a month after
landowners blockaded the refugee transit centre in December 2017, demanding a
greater share of the money being spent on the island.
When asked about any
link between Paladin and PNG politicians, Attorney-General Christian Porter said
it was not in his portfolio area, but such claims warranted further
investigation.
"I don't have any
line of sight into those sorts of claims and they have to be investigated
thoroughly," he told the ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.
The issue is set to be
examined further at Senate Estimates hearings on Monday and Tuesday, after a
series of articles in the The Australian Financial Review raised
questions about how the thinly
capitalised Paladin, which had little experience, a poor reputation and no
corporate structure, was awarded such a lucrative contract.
The contracts were
awarded as part of a "limited tender", which typically means only one
party was invited to bid.
In the days following
the first Financial Review articles Paladin shuffled its ownership
structure, removed information from its website and changed its Australian
registered office from a beach shack on Kangaroo Island to a serviced office in
Canberra. That office did not have the phone connected on Friday.
Financial
Review, 15
February 2019:
One issue that raised
concern was Paladin's peculiar head office set-up. The Kangaroo Island address
had no listed phone number and could not receive mail from Australia Post,
highlighting a general air of secrecy around the company.
The
Financial Review,
13 February 2019:
Home Affairs Minister
Peter Dutton has moved to distance himself from a controversial government
contractor that is providing security on Manus Island, arguing he had "no
sight" of the tender process and it was a matter for department officials.
In the first public
comments since The Australian Financial Review revealed little-known
company Paladin was earning up to $17 million a month to provide
security at three refugee centres on Manus Island after a closed tender
process, Mr Dutton said those responsible were "the secretary of the
department ultimately or delegated to someone within the department".
The
Financial Review,
11 February 2019:
The key beneficiary of a
$423 million government contract to provide security for refugees on Manus
Island left a string of bad debts and failed contracts across Asia, raising
further questions about how the Paladin group won such a lucrative tender.
As pressure builds on
the government to explain the hefty cost of its offshore processing regime,
further details have emerged about the Paladin founder, Craig Thrupp, and his
time in East Timor and Indonesia.
The
Financial Review,
10 February 2019:
As federal Parliament
prepares for another fractious debate around refugees on Monday, an
investigation by The Australian Financial Review has found the
Department of Home Affairs overlooked allegations of deception, lying during
the tender process and questionable payments when it extended Paladin's
contract on January 3. These allegations emerged during a bitter legal dispute
between Paladin and its former chief executive for PNG, Craig Coleman, who is
suing the company for breach of contract.
In addition, Paladin's
founder and key executive, Craig Thrupp, is no longer able to enter PNG, while
another local director, Kisokau Powaseu, was detained in Port Moresby last
month and charged with misappropriating funds and money laundering……
Paladin, controlled by
Mr Thrupp, a former Australian soldier, and his business partner Ian Stewart,
has also recently purchased the contentious PNG security outfit Black Swan, a
company repeatedly
forced to deny rumours it has links to the family of Prime Minister Peter
O'Neill…..
"Australian
taxpayers are expending a huge amount of money but we don't see much of it
being utilised on the ground in Manus," said Abdul Aziz, a Sudanese
refugee who has been on the island for five years.
"The maintenance
service is very poor … and they have not bought any new equipment in many
years," says Mr Aziz.
This was confirmed by a
UNHCR report published last July which noted rooms at the East Lorengau camp
were below international shelter standards for accommodation over three months,
while other areas had leaking pipes, a lack of fire alarms and showers that
were not working.
The report did however
note improvements in other areas like the ratio of toilets and the general
accommodation conditions in other camps.
Calculations by
the Financial Review indicate Paladin is being paid on average $20.8
million a month by the government to provide security at all three sites and
manage the East Lorengau Transit Centre. That amount has risen 48 per cent from
an average of $14 million a month last year. A Home Affairs spokesperson said
there were now 422 people housed at the three camps – 213 at East Lorengau, 111
at West Lorengau and 98 asylum seekers at Hillside Haus.
That means on a daily
basis it now costs the Australian government over $1600 to house each refugee
on Manus, not including food and welfare services, more than double the price
of a suite at the Shangri-La hotel in Sydney.
Typically, profit
margins are as much as 40 per cent on these contracts because of the risks
involved. However, Paladin's margin is "unbelievable", according to
one source familiar with the this type of work. That's because the company uses
mostly local staff and its security guards earn about $2 an hour.
The company is believed
to have just over a dozen expatriate staff, who might be earning $150,000 each.
Home Affairs says it provides security, transport, IT services and emergency
management. Even if you build in generous contingencies for evacuations,
emergency response teams and local consultants, Paladin's total costs are
estimated to be less than $3 million a month. That means they are pocketing
more than $17 million a month to manage the East Lorengau centre and secure the
three camps, which have been used as primary accommodation for refugees and
asylum seekers since the offshore processing centre at the nearby Lombrum naval
base was closed in October 2017.
The
Guardian, 17
February 2019:
Penny Wong has
indicated Labor will target the Paladin offshore detention security contract in
Senate estimates this week, accusing the government of failing to explain why
the company was awarded $420m in contracts through closed tender…..
Wong told reporters in
Adelaide the Paladin contract had “a lot of questions around it” and it was
“deeply concerning” a company with “such a poor track record” was awarded
$420m.
Wong accused Porter of
giving answers that were “not consistent” with Dutton’s because “this went to a
closed tender – not an open tender, [it was] not an open competitive process”.
Wong accused Dutton of
“trying to wash [his] hands of it”. “Tomorrow is Senate estimates – what I’d
say to the government is: stop hiding.
“Why don’t you front up
and tell the truth about why that contract is awarded in such circumstances,
why it went to closed tender?”
Financial
Review, 18
February 2019:
Paladin, the security firm at the centre of the $423 million contract
scandalhas a secret office in Canberra, just three kilometres from
Parliament House.
The Australian Financial
Review visited an office location near the fashionable Kingston Foreshore
precinct in which Paladin staff are based.
That address, however,
is different to the Canberra location that was provided to corporate regulators as
the company's registered office and principal place of business, in a filing
last week.
Paladin had previously
advised the corporate regulator that its registered office and principal place
of business was a remote location on Kangaroo Island in South Australia that
had no post box and was therefore unable to receive mail.
But as coverage of the
secretive company, which has been awarded contracts totalling $423 million to
provide security on Manus Island, has intensified, Paladin has since made
changes to its address and shareholder structure.
Paladin Australia
notified regulators that its shareholding had transferred from the company's
Hong Kong-registered entity to the Singapore company, which is the entity
granted a government contract worth $333 million. The company is owned by 38-year-old, Canberra-born former soldier CraigThrupp and 41-year-old Ian Duncan Stewart.
On Thursday, Paladin
Australia also changed its registered address to a serviced office in the suburb
of Barton. As of Friday, the company had not been set up with phones to receive
calls.
But sources with
knowledge of the company, said Paladin actually operated out of another
Canberra location on Eyre Street in the Kingston district.
That address is two
kilometres away from the Servcorp address provided to regulators.
There's no signage or
branding of any kind outside the office and apartment block and the ground
floor workspaces are covered by heavy blinds.
When the Financial
Review buzzed the intercom for the unmarked offices on the ground floor, a
woman answered and Mr Thrupp came to the entrance.
He did not identify
himself or make any comment before going back inside the locked entrance.
Staff walked back and
forth between the two secure office areas, using electronic access cards to
enter and exit.
The secret office
location raises further questions about Paladin and its apparent attempts at
hiding its principal place of business.
Paladin's previously
registered office in Kangaroo Island had no mail box, which made it near
impossible for the company to receive mail and be served legal documents.
Paladin affair:
Fact-checking what Home Affairs said in Senate Estimates
The beach shack
Home Affairs dismissed
Paladin having its Australian head office at a "beach shack" on
Kangaroo Island as unimportant, saying that entity was not involved in
the Manus Island contract.
Court documents show
Paladin's former chief executive, Craig Coleman, who was the project director
for Manus Island and exercised control over the Commonwealth contract was
employed by the Australian company, which was registered to that beach shack on
Kangaroo Island.
In November 2017, two
months after Paladin Solutions signed its first letter of intent with the
Australian government it registered with Australian regulators as a foreign
entity. The registered office it provided was the "beach shack". Both
directors provided this location as their address.
Fraud and money
laundering
Home Affairs said
the Paladin director Kisokau Powaseu who has been charged with 106
counts of fraud and one of money laundering was not a director of any
entities contracted to the Commonwealth.
Under questioning Home
Affairs conceded Mr Powaseu was a director of Paladin Solutions, the entity
which received $89 million of payments after a letter of intent was signed in
September 2017.
Paladin Solutions is registered in PNG and is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Paladin Singapore, the entity which currently holds the
$333 million government contract. Mr Powaseu was appointed a director of the
company in May 2018.
In court documents
relating to Paladin's dispute with its former CEO Mr Coleman, the company
agrees Mr Powaseu was a director of Paladin Solutions PNG which was
"engaged with the Australian government".
The Paladin web
The department expanded
and contracted the Paladin group of companies at its convenience. On the issue
of Powaseu, the department was quick to stress the point that this individual
had no ties to Paladin Singapore, the entity contracted by the Australian
government. (This was later found to be inaccurate - see the Fraud and money
laundering section of this story.)
However, when the
department wished to demonstrate Paladin's long track record, it was prepared
to refer to other companies in the group including Paladin Solutions, Pomwan
Paladin and Paladin Aus.
'Global' Company
Home Affairs also relied
on Paladin's collection of subsidiaries in stressing it was "a global
company" with clients across the region. Deputy secretary Cheryl-Anne Moy
said Paladin has "a very extensive and a very experienced operation"
listing among its key clients the Australian Defence Force, which used it for
APEC security support and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for which
it had provided security in Port Moresby for nearly three years.
The department later
clarified that those clients had come to the firm via Paladin's mysterious purchase of one of PNG's biggest private
security firms, Black Swan, in July last year. That was followed by an
interjection from one of the senators who said the purchase had come about
because "you gave them so much money." At the time the government
awarded Paladin the sizeable contract, it did not have these clients.
Home Affairs also
conceded Paladin's lack of experience in dealing with sizeable contracts
had been one of the risks identified during the tender process. While
Paladin had been operating on Manus Island, as a subcontractor to Broadspectrum
and Wilson Security, these had been much smaller contracts.
In his statement of
claim, former CEO Mr Coleman claimed just three weeks before being awarded the
September 2017 contract Paladin was "not well prepared to perform the role
provided for under the Proposal".
"Paladin did not
have the corporate structure, human and other resources or processes that would
permit it … to perform the roles required under the Proposal," he alleged.
Money up front
When asked whether
Paladin was advanced $10 million of funds by the government prior to delivering
services as part of the contract, Home Affairs initially said this was false.
Upon further
questioning, it emerged Paladin was paid $5.5 million as part of a letter of
intent ahead of any services it provided and subsequently received further
payments totalling $89 million before a formal contract had been agreed.
Access denied
Home Affairs said it had
to check whether it was made directly aware Paladin managing director and part-owner Craig Thrupp was
unable to enter PNG.
That is despite the PNG
government confirming on Monday "the visa of one of the directors of the
company [Paladin] was cancelled because of the company not adhering to the
government's position on recruitment of local labour".
Paladin also confirmed
to the Financial Review a week earlier Mr Thrupp's APEC Permit (a
regional visa) had been cancelled and said since then he had not attempted to
enter PNG…..
BACKGROUND
Australian Government,
AusTender,
retrieved 18 February 2019:
CN ID: CN3496748-A2
Agency: Department of
Home Affairs
Amendment Publish Date: 3-Jan-2019
Category: Management
support services
Contract Period: 28-Feb-2018
to 30-Jun-2019
Contract Value (AUD): $333,546,146.40
Amendment Value (AUD): $109,239,312.00
Amendment Start Date: 1-Jan-2019
Description: Garrison
Services at ELRTC & additional sites PNG
Parent CN: CN3496748
Procurement Method: Limited
tender
Limited Tender
Condition: 10.3.e. Additional deliveries by original supplier intended as
replacement parts, extensions, or continuation for existing goods or services
for compatibility.
Confidentiality -
Contract: No
Confidentiality -
Outputs: No
Consultancy: No
Agency Reference ID:0070021821
Supplier Details
Name: PALADIN HOLDINGS
PTE LTD
Postal Address: 4
Battery Road China Building
Town/City: Singapore
Postcode: 049908
State/Territory: Outside
Australia
Country: SINGAPORE
ABN: Exempt
____________________________________
CN ID: CN3496748-A1
Agency: Department of
Home Affairs
Amendment Publish Date: 29-Oct-2018
Category: Management
support services
Contract Period: 28-Feb-2018
to 30-Jun-2019
Contract Value (AUD): $224,306,834.40
Amendment Value (AUD): $47,430,000.00
Amendment Start Date:
1-Nov-2018 Description: Garrison
Services at ELRTC & additional sites PNG
Parent CN: CN3496748
Procurement Method: Limited
tender
Limited Tender
Condition: 10.3.e. Additional deliveries by original supplier intended as
replacement parts, extensions, or continuation for existing goods or services
for compatibility.
Confidentiality -
Contract: No
Confidentiality -
Outputs: No
Consultancy: No
Agency Reference ID: 0070021821
Supplier Details
Name: PALADIN HOLDINGS
PTE LTD
Postal Address: 4
Battery Road China Building
Town/City: Singapore Postcode:
049908
State/Territory: Outside
Australia
Country: SINGAPORE
ABN: Exempt
____________________________________
Provision of Garrison
Services at East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre, Manus
CN ID: CN3470670
Agency: Department of
Home Affairs
Publish Date: 27-Nov-2017
Category: Management
support services
Contract Period: 21-Sep-2017
to 28-Feb-2018
Contract Value (AUD): $89,243,817.76 [contract value delivered by four separate letters of
intent as per Senate Estimates Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee
evidence on 18.02.2019]
Original: $39,743,817.76
Description: Provision
of Garrison Services at East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre Manus
Amendments:
CN3470670-A2 -
change to contract term & value (23-Feb-2018)
Amendment Value (AUD): $16,500,000.00
CN3470670-A1 -
Increased value and extended end date (28-Dec-2017)
Contract Value (AUD): $72,743,817.76
Procurement Method: Limited
tender
Limited Tender
Exemption: Paragraph 2.6 was applied in some part. [This contract was a direct
approach to Paladin by way of an initial special measures arrangement as per
Senate Estimates Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee evidence
on 18.02.2019. A departmental decision was later taken to include future
contacts with Paladin Holdings Singapore as special measures rather than
conduct open tenders]
ATM ID: RFQ1750034
Confidentiality -
Contract: No
Confidentiality -
Outputs: No
Consultancy:No
Agency Reference ID: 0070020581
Supplier Details
Name: PALADIN SOLUTIONS
PNG LTD
Postal Address:
PARK TOWER ANNEX,
SECTION 25, ALLOTMENT 35, HUNTERS STREET, GRANVILLE
Town/City: NATIONAL
CAPITAL DISTRICT
Postcode:125
State/Territory: Outside
Australia
Country: PAPUA NEW
GUINEA
ABN: Exempt
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