Competitors call for ASIC/ASX investigation of Telstra's NBN RFP tactics

By Stuart Corner
Monday, 15 December 2008 05:06

Strategy

The Competitive Carriers’ Coalition has accused Telstra of failing to adequately inform the market of is activities around the national broadband network and has called on ASIC and the ASX to investigate.

CCC executive director, David Forman said: “On November 26, the deadline for NBN bids, Telstra chairman Donald McGauchie made a song and dance about how Telstra was refusing to put any more than a 13 page letter into the bidding process, and was holding back on the rest of the bid.

“He said Telstra had to do this in the interest of its shareholders until he had a guarantee there would be no requirement for Telstra to face [structural separation] regulation.
 
“But Mr McGauchie has today admitted that Telstra tried to secretly put more material in front of the Commonwealth’s expert panel in ‘early December’, well after bids had closed, specifically, the missing SME plan that was one of the conditions required to make the bid compliant with the NBN process.
 
“At no stage did Telstra tell the market that it tried to put in more than 13 pages, nor that it had tried to submit an essential component of its bid after the deadline. If Telstra was trying to have the SME plan accepted after the deadline it must have known that its bid was non-compliant as submitted on November 26.
 
Forman aruged that, "if the original 13 page bid required disclosure, surely the additional parts of the bid must also have been subject to Telstra’s continuous disclosure obligations...This also begs the question; what else did Telstra secretly attempt to submit after the bidding deadline had passed?

Clause 1.5.32 of the RFP states that: "It is a condition for participation in this process that proponents submit a plan outlining opportunities for Australian and New Zealand SMEs to provide goods and services to the project."

SME Participation Plans, the RFP said, "should be similar to Australian Industry Participation (AIP) Plans , and the required information was spelt out in some detail:

" Proponents should set out details of the proposed communications strategy that will provide for the early identification of opportunities for Australian and New Zealand SMEs and the effective transfer of information on opportunities for Australian and New Zealand SMEs through all tiers of supply.

"Proponents should also set out opportunities for Australian and New Zealand SMEs to be involved in all stages of the project (ie, through design, procurement, construction, operation and whole-of-life support).

"Proponents should describe opportunities for longer-term participation by Australian and New Zealand SMEs on a commercial basis. This could include: supporting training and skills development initiatives; undertaking research and development and encouraging innovation as appropriate; dacilitating strategic partnering and networking to develop critical mass; supporting the integration of Australian and New Zealand SMEs into global supply chains; and encouraging Australian and New Zealand SME suppliers to adopt world’s best practice standards and, where appropriate, to gain international standard accreditation."