[Peetwo]

Stacks on Electric Blue - AOPA weighs in on ANAO ASA audit report, while Dick Smith guns for Sir A...

First an update from the 'bump in the night' thread...

Ah; yes, but…

7. Airservices demonstrated a lack of organisational commitment to the effective implementation of probity principles in respect to the ICCPM arrangements.

It was reasonably foreseeable that Airservices’ contracting of ICCPM to assist with the OneSKY Australia project would give rise to perceptions of conflicts of interest and, potentially, actual conflicts of interest.

But the ICCPM engagements were not effectively managed so as to ensure the OneSKY tender process was free of any concerns over conflict of interest that could impact on public confidence in the outcome.

I’ll go with GD on this; pre lubrication in anticipation of the event.  Houstoblame has a his little goat tethered under the tree as bait while he sits in the high branches, expecting an easy scalp. The EB is not savvy enough to realise he is a sacrificial item; too self impressed to see who is the bait in the trap and far too busy running about making half asses speeches to realise that no one is really listening to the bleating of a tethered goat.

Round two will be ‘interesting’ methinks.

To 'that man' Higgins in the Oz today:

‘Heads must roll’ after audit office pans Airservices spending

The air traffic control system has not offered value, the audit office says. Picture: Roger Lovell

• Ean Higgins
  
• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM September 2, 2016
  

Aviation leaders have called for “heads to roll” at Airservices Australia following a damning report by the government spending watchdog that found a lack of probity, competitive tendering and cost control meant the organisation was not getting “value for money” for the $1.5 billion One­SKY air traffic control system.

The Australian National Audit Office this week tabled its much anticipated report on contract arrangements between government-owned Airservices and a Canberra-based group with military links known as the International Centre for Complex Project Management.

Among the findings, Airservices paid ICCPM consultants up to $5000 for an eight-hour day to advise on the OneSKY project, which is designed to integrate the military and civilian air traffic control systems into a single state-of-the-art network.

“Overall, Airservices’ approach to contracting ICCPM to assist with the delivery of OneSKY Australia was ineffective in providing value-for-money outcomes,” the Audit Office said in its report.

The executive director of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Benjamin Morgan, said that as a government-owned organisation, Airservices had given itself “the gold pass standard ­licence of wasting”.

“Heads have to roll. Somebody has got to take responsibility for this scathing report,” Mr Morgan said.

Businessman and aviator Dick Smith called on the Airservices board, headed by chairman Angus Houston, to review the appointment of its chief executive, Jason Harfield, who was Airservices’ executive general manager for ­future service delivery during most of the period examined by the Audit Office.

Mr Harfield wrote on his LinkedIn profile that during that time “I have the accountability for the leadership, acquisition and delivery” of OneSKY and was the project’s “senior responsible owner”.

Mr Smith described Mr Harfield as “an honest, hardworking bloke who has been put in a position that he simply does not have the skills and training to undertake”.

“Someone needs to hold Sir Angus accountable for these (CEO appointment) decisions,” Mr Smith said.

Mr Harfield did not respond to questions. Sir Angus said he would not ask the board to review Mr Harfield’s appointment.

The Audit Office launched the investigation after both Labor and Coalition members of a Senate committee had in public hearings grilled Mr Harfield about what they claimed were “dodgy” dealings with ICCPM.

The committee heard a year ago that ICCPM managing director Deborah Hein is the wife of Steve Hein, who worked for ICCPM until hired by Airservices in a senior managerial role. One contract Airservices struck with ICCPM was processed by Mr Hein.

Senators also expressed incredulity that Airservices had paid ICCPM consultant Harry Bradford $1 million to negotiate on its behalf with the prime contractor on the OneSKY project, aerospace group Thales Australia, when the managing director of Thales, Chris Jenkins, was then also the chairman of ICCPM.

In its report, the Audit Office said: “Internal controls intended to promote compliance were regularly bypassed. Where they were applied, the controls were often ineffective.”

In a statement on its website, Airservices says: “Airservices acknowledges it can improve its procurement processes and better manage perceived conflicts of interest. Actions to address each of the recommendations made by the ANAO are near completion.”

MTF...P2