Rex Patrick (SA, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

It's a genuine question. I'm the director of company A; Senator Storer is the director of company B. I am awarded a limited tender contract. Senator Storer feels aggrieved by that because he thought there was something to offer. In order to bring an action, he has to show that the department has in some way breached the Commonwealth procurement rules. He can't do that by simply saying, 'I feel this is unfair.' He needs access to documents that might show that they didn't consider something relevant or they've not properly gone to market to find companies that provide the sorts of services that both my company and Senator Storer's company provide. The point is that you can't actually commence an action unless you've got access to the decision-making and the process by which the department made the decision. Is it wholly and solely that Senator Storer has to guess and pay lawyers to get discovery? Will he be able to get access to that freely because it's on the web somewhere or, alternatively, via FOI?