Innovative small businesses in Canberra deserve a fair go in competing for government contracts, Senator Lundy said today following an Innovation and Procurement Forum organised in Canberra by the Churchill Club.
Federal Labor’s New Directions in Innovation, Competitiveness and Productivity includes a 10-point framework to guide Federal Labor’s approach to building a more innovative, more productive Australia.
One of Labor’s key points is to use government procurement to support innovative Australian firms. In the ACT alone, business has the opportunity to tender for hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars worth of federal government contracts.
Of the 150,000 contracts let each year by the Howard Government, only about one quarter went to small and medium sized business.
Labor believes small business should be encouraged to gain a greater share of the total $26 billion government contracts.
Federal Labor is committed to making sure that the barriers to small and medium sized businesses (SME’s) tendering competitively for this work are removed.
When well executed, government contracts provide an excellent reference site and can help our growing local businesses to open up new markets here and overseas. This is good for small business and good for the Australian economy.
In addition, Federal Labor will reduce the red tape involved by creating contracts that are simpler and easier to comply with. For example, the effect of government contracts using unlimited liability clauses and other onerous terms is that SME’s will not bid for low value tenders. Such ‘one size fits all’ terms are meant for high value, high risk contracts and are often used inappropriately for smaller value contracts.
Today’s Forum on innovation and procurement was a timely reminder of the economic benefits SME access to government contracts provides and how their research, development an innovation can drive growth.
There are important lessons for Australia as countries like the UK, inspired by the US program Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), leap ahead with programs designed to maximise innovation through government contracts.
For further information on the Forum held today in Canberra, http://www.churchillclub.org.au/23.asp?eventId=153
Contact: Rachel Allen – 0418 488 295
