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'Not a good look': Calls for transparency after Liberal Party donor wins Pacific cable contract
Pacific Beat / By Catherine Graue
Posted 1 day ago
A man depicting submarine cables from Australia and around the region.
IMAGE The contract was for a scoping study on the planned Pacific submarine internet cable.(Supplied: TeleGeography)
The Federal Government has been called on to publicly explain its decision to award a multi-million-dollar contract to a company that has previously donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Liberal Party.

Key points:
Vocus won the $2.8 million contract late last year through a limited tender
It was for a scoping study on the planned Pacific high-speed internet cable
Vocus donated $44,000 to the Liberal Party in 2013 and $50,000 in 2016
Telecommunications company Vocus was last year awarded a $2.8 million contract to carry out a three-month scoping study on the planned undersea high-speed internet cable for Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.

Vocus donated $44,000 to the Liberal Party of Australia in 2013, and a further $50,000 in 2016.

AUDIO Calls for transparency over contract for Pacific undersea cable study.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) awarded the scoping study contract through a limited tender, a process where only one or more potential suppliers are approached to apply.

Australia made an offer to help with the Pacific cable project last year after the Solomon Islands signed a deal with Chinese communications giant Huawei.

That deal unnerved security experts concerned about China's growing influence in the region, and the prospect of a Chinese company gaining access to Australia's internet infrastructure.

Aid money used to buy new cable

The money going towards the Pacific internet cable should not come at the expense of education and health programs, says Australia's peak aid group body.

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Marc Purcell, the chief executive of the Australian Council for International Development, told the ABC's Pacific Beat program the combination of the donations and the limited tender were "not a good look".

"The Government does have the ability under the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines to have a limited tender," he said.

"While it has that power, the issue is the lack of transparency and what I think will raise eyebrows in Canberra is the fact that the preferred provider Vocus is a donor to the Coalition."

He said the nature of the limited tender meant there was only a small amount of information publicly available, and he has called on the Government to clarify the business case for the contract.

"It's not a good look. And I think because there is a high degree of public concern about accountability of the aid program, we're calling on the Government to make it more transparent," he said.


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A deal on how the project will be funded is expected to be announced in coming weeks, however the Government has already confirmed it will fund the majority of the project, and will do so out of its overseas aid program.

DFAT says company 'best placed' for contract
A graphic on how much is allocated to different countries in the Pacific.
IMAGE The internet cable project will be paid out of Australia's aid budget.(Supplied: DFAT)
DFAT said Vocus was awarded the scoping study contract on account of its "extensive, recent experience with similar infrastructure projects", and that the company was "assessed as being best placed to explore potential cable solutions".

It said the tender process was carried out in accordance with the procurement rules and transparency requirements.

Vocus has recently installed submarine cable infrastructure between Darwin and Port Hedland. Another project linking Perth, Jakarta and Singapore is scheduled for completion in July.

A Solomon Islands woman using a computer
IMAGE A new cable system will improve internet connection speed across Solomon Islands.(Supplied: Asian Development Bank)
The ABC understands Vocus did not have the capacity to complete submarine cable builds at the time the donations were made.

"This donation was made prior to the Vocus acquisition of Nextgen Networks, the entity within Vocus group responsible for this project," the company said in a statement.

The company said the political donations were made by its former board and management team.

Its management team has gone through major changes in recent months, with former CEO Geoff Horth stepping down in late February by "mutual agreement" after two years in the top job.

Shortly before his departure, Mr Horth told the ABC that Vocus was well-placed to deliver the scoping study on behalf of the Australian Government.

"I think what we can demonstrate is as an organisation, we're a listed Australian company that has a great reputation and strong credentials in designing and building these types of systems," he said.

The scoping study was completed and handed to the government at the end of March.

The project's next phase is expected to begin in the second half of this year, with the cable due to be completed by the end of 2019.

Oasis men talked ALP donations and favours

The former Bulldogs Leagues Club chief, Gary McIntyre, has confirmed he discussed a $1 million political donation to the ALP with fellow director Arthur Coorey, but said it occurred in a discussion on how the hotel industry had achieved such favourable treatment from the Carr Government.

On its fifth day of hearings into possible corruption involving the $900 million Oasis sports club complex project, the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence from the former chief executive of the football club, Bob Hagan, and Mr McIntyre.

While they agreed there had been talk of a $1 million donation, their accounts differed, particularly over the role of Mr Coorey, who other witnesses have linked to the Fisheries Minister, Eddie Obeid.

https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/13/1037080786352.html

It's the ALP playbook all over again ;D ;D ;D

An article from 2002?.   How desperate can you get!!!


Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv

salad in wrote on May 9^th, 2018 at 6:12pm:

Oasis men talked ALP donations and favours The former Bulldogs Leagues Club chief, Gary McIntyre, has confirmed he discussed a $1 million political donation to the ALP with fellow director Arthur Coorey, but said it occurred in a discussion on how the hotel industry had achieved such favourable treatment from the Carr Government. On its fifth day of hearings into possible corruption involving the $900 million Oasis sports club complex project, the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard evidence from the former chief executive of the football club, Bob Hagan, and Mr McIntyre. While they agreed there had been talk of a $1 million donation, their accounts differed, particularly over the role of Mr Coorey, who other witnesses have linked to the Fisheries Minister, Eddie Obeid. https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/13/1037080786352.html It's the ALP playbook all over again ;D ;D ;D

Offtopic articles from 2002 are irrelevant.

I'm not a fan of the Libs but...


Quote:

Australia made an offer to help with the Pacific cable project last year after the Solomon Islands signed a deal with Chinese communications giant Huawei. That deal unnerved security experts concerned about China's growing influence in the region, and the prospect of a Chinese company gaining access to Australia's internet infrastructure.

I can understand why it was done.
You can almost bet your house it was done under advisement from the security services.

I wouldn't buy them for any price.

More FAKE NEWS dregs from 2002 from the Polly Waffle VIRUS.

stunspore wrote on Oct 4^th, 2018 at 9:17pm:

I wouldn't buy them for any price.

Oh, I don't know ... put a bullet in the back of their heads and you could get a few dollars a kilo for the long pork. It might be a bit stringy from age and fairly fatty, but it's going to make up for it by being tender from not having done any hard work. The leftovers would render nicely into fertiliser.

Meat would be too fat from all the taxpayer and donation money.

When the Polly Waffle VIRUS pumped out the Fake News his meager mentality could not comprehend that it was a SECURITY ISSUE to keep the Chows out of the area.




Government scuppers Huawei cable plan with Vocus contract. Australian government will majority fund sub-marine cable to Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea
George Nott 20 June, 2018 10:34

https://d2r9nfiii89r0l.cloudfront.net/article/images/740x500/dimg/dreamstime_m_71537904.jpg

Vocus has been contracted by the Australian Government to construct a high-speed sub-marine cable between the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The government will majority fund the cables with a financial contribution from both PNG and Solomon Islands.

The awarding of the $136.6 million contract to Vocus is part of the Australian government’s push to kill an agreement between the Solomon Islands and Chinese company Huawei to construct a cable from Sydney to Solomon Islands capital Honiara.

The agreement had sparked security concerns due to Huawei’s perceived close links to the Chinese government, and the access the cable would provide to Australia’s communications network.

Huawei was blocked on security grounds from working on Australia's national broadband system in 2012.

Huawei on Monday hit back with an open letter to Australian MPs saying the fears were “ill-informed and not based on facts”.

“We are a private company, owned by our employees with no other shareholders. In each of the 170 countries where we operate, we abide by the national laws and guidelines. To do otherwise would end our business overnight,” the letter, signed by Huawei chairman John Lord stated.

One in every two Australians rely on the company’s technology for their daily communication needs, the company said, given its infrastructure is used by the Vodafone, Optus and TPG mobile networks.

The cable contract kicks off the physical installation of Coral Sea Cable System, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019.

“Australia's strong support for this project is a reflection of our enduring commitment to the Pacific, where we work with partners to support the region's stability, security and prosperity,” foreign minister Julie Bishop said in a statement.

“Boosting connectivity in PNG and Solomon Islands will drive economic growth, and improve governance and security,” she added.

Vocus has also been contracted to construct a domestic sub-marine network within Solomon Islands, to extend the benefits of the cable beyond Honiara to the outer provinces where the majority of the Solomon Islands population lives.

“We are pleased to build on our strong relationship with the Federal Government and undertake this critical infrastructure project on their behalf. In this digital age, we all rely heavily on access to fast, reliable and affordable connectivity.  Extending this to our international neighbours for the first time will provide significant economic and social benefits,” said Vocus Group managing director and CEO, Kevin Russell.

“Our recent experience constructing world-class domestic fibre infrastructure, including the sub-marine North-West Cable System and Australia Singapore Cable, means Vocus is extremely well placed to partner with the Federal Government to complete this important project,” he added.

https://www.cio.com.au/article/642696/government-scuppers-huawei-cable-plan-vocus-contract/