Media release – Kristie Johnston MP, independent Member for Clark, 16 August 2022

Procurement Failings at Macquarie Point

Later today in Parliamentary Question Time I will ask the Premier the following questions relating to Macquarie Point:

Premier, I understand that staff at the Macquarie Point Development Corporation wrote to you in the week preceding the resignation of the CEO, Ms Massina, outlining their concerns with the performance and conduct of the CEO.

Will you release that letter along with the details of any ex gratia or severance payout to Ms Massina?

 Also, Premier, there are at least two inquiries into management and governance at Macquarie Point. You are yet to release a report into management and workplace practices; however a KPMG report was released this morning into Macquarie Point’s procurement and contracting compliance.

Premier, this report reveals systemic non-compliance with Treasurer’s Instructions with the investigators unable to locate basic documentation such as signed contracts and signed variations to contracts across multiple procurements.

What confidence can the long-suffering taxpayer have that your Government has any control over this valuable public asset?

The KPMG report referred to above can be found here: https://www.macpoint.com/_files/ugd/0562b4_32cb503a32ce4db1a2688feded987b33.pdf

The findings include:

  • Unable to obtained signed contracts for three procurements.
  • Three contacts had variations with limited or no documentation retained.
  • Two contracts had variances between the initial proposal amount and the eventual signed contract.
  • One contract did not comply with the ‘buy local’ policy.

KPMG stated that, “Failure to comply with Treasurer’s Instructions could lead to improper management of the public finances of Tasmania, in a manner that is inefficient, ineffective and inconsistent with accounting standards and financial practices.”

Government has head in sand over Mac Point

Today in Parliament I asked the Premier to come clean on a number of governance and management concerns that have dogged the Macquarie Point Development Corporation.

He failed on all fronts to answer my concerns.

He did not respond to my request to provide details of the severance payout to the CEO who abruptly resigned after allegations of mismanagement and poor HR practices were made.

He played down the seriousness of the findings of a KPMG report into procurement practices at Macquarie Point. This report reveals systemic non-compliance with Treasurer’s Instructions with the investigators unable to locate basic documentation such as signed contracts and signed variations to contracts across multiple procurements.

Who is in charge here? The Government has its head in the sand and the Board seem to be failing to appropriately oversee the conduct of management.

Surely the Board has to take responsibility for the Macquarie Point debacle. All Directors must follow their CEO out the door, and resign.

It is time to draw a line under progress, if you can call it that, to date and for a re-set at Macquarie Point. Enough is enough.