The CCF – SA said it had raised three key concerns with the South Australian government:
A detailed 20-year infrastructure plan was needed for SA that would enable all civil contracting companies to make long-term projections and develop skilled staff that would give them an opportunity to grow their businesses effectively.
Project parcelling should be done with a greater awareness of the state’s future, so that all civil contracting companies were given an opportunity to be a part of the growth in civil infrastructure spending.
The government’s procurement polices and procedures must ensure all civil contracting companies are given a fair go.
In particular, the CCF – SA said it was particularly puzzled by the prequalification process of the South Australian Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure. According to the federation, the department appears to exclude local civil contracting companies from competitive tendering by demanding that the companies had previous direct tram/rail work experience. “We have approached the state government about this matter,” CCF – SA chief executive officer Peter Nolan said. “The Civil Contractors Federation SA requested that the government change the current procurement processes to enable local civil contractors to be included in the competitive tendering process for rail and tram work.“To date we have not had a positive response to this. “The government must ensure that it supports SA companies to grow now for the future as per the Industry Participation Policy.”
