NZRise submitted extensive feedback on behalf of members into the Proposed Government Procurement Rules 4th Edition and eagerly await updates from MBIE on their review of the consultation feedback.
The NZRise submission can be Read Here.
Unanswered Questions
In reviewing the proposed rules we identified a number of gaps and unanswered questions in both scope and delivery structure. The most concerning questions posed in our feedback consider the broader context and drivers of the current Coalition Government:
- Can MBIE explain why it is not looking to include the WellBeing indicators in the definition of ‘Public Value”?
- How does MBIE plan to bring the imperative of increasing access to NZ Owned companies to life?
- What are the measurable definitions that MBIE is using to confirm that public value is being met?
Further the following questions – posed by NZRise – would need to be addressed in a revised set of rules. The context of these questions can be found in the NZRise submission (link above):
- Where is the function of Government Procurement Lead to review Agency compliance?
- Are they rules or are they a guide?
- Is the ‘robust business case’ publicly available to assist suppliers in creating a more relevant response?
- What are the barriers to making this information public to potential suppliers?
- In support of transparency, are these procurement policies for each agency available to potential suppliers?
- Why is there an exemption for Commodity Markets?
- Can the link to the list of designated contracts be included in the Rules please?
- Equally, what about the scenario where a third party (i.e. procurement consultant) writes or contracts on the RFx process / deliverables and also contracts to potential suppliers advising them how best to respond to the RFx?
- What is the reasonable test for the pre-conditions?
- Why should opt-out procurement or secondary procurement be excluded from notifications?
- What is the impact on broader outcomes if all New Zealand ICT companies outsourced their skilled labour?
- Does this not cut across the Government aims of sustainability in the supplier community?
- What is being sacrificed to make the lower margin viable?
Thanks
The team who prepared this submission was led by Shane Ross. NZRise members would like to thank him and his employer, The Testing Consultancy, for contributing Shanes’ time to facilitate discussions and collate feedback.
We would also like to thank our members for their input and time, this was one of the most debated topics for NZRise this year.
Any questions please comment on this post or contact the Co-Chairs, Victoria MacLennan and Don Christie