a4e highpark1 · @a4ehighpark1
26th Feb 2012 from Twitlonger
A4E Australia....Concern over Gillard adviser's talks with jobs agency
A senior adviser to Deputy Prime Minister and Employment Minister Julia Gillard met executives from a firm with ties to Britain's Labour Party which later won lucrative contracts under the Federal Government's new jobs scheme.
British work placement firm A4e earlier this year displaced Australian job agencies by winning contracts under the Government's $4.9 billion Jobs Services Australia program.
A4e executives met Ms Gillard's deputy chief of staff, Tom Bentley, in February last year to discuss the Government's plans to reform employment services for Australia's unemployed. A4e had no contracts in Australia at this time.
The Canberra meeting was also attended by an adviser to former employment participation minister Brendan O'Connor and occurred before jobs tender process began. Another adviser from Mr O'Connor's office met A4e executives in July, two months before the tender process started.
A spokeswoman for Ms Gillard last night said there was no contact between the British company and the offices of Ms Gillard and Mr O'Connor during the job services tender process.
The tender process has recently attracted criticism from several Australian job agencies. The majority of a Senate committee that investigated the issue last month concluded "doubts linger…(about) the probity of this tender process".
A4e has strong links to the British Labour Party and is being investigated by the British Government for alleged fraud involving work placement contracts.
Last year it paid British Labour MP David Blunkett $60,000 to advise on its overseas business affairs and flew him to South Africa to promote its interests there.
Mr Blunkett was formerly the work and pensions minister responsible for administering Britain's employment programs. These programs have delivered A4e, which is based in Mr Blunkett's Sheffield electorate, more than $150 million worth of contracts during the past decade.
In 1998/99, Mr Bentley worked in Mr Blunkett's ministerial office as a special adviser on school reform and social inclusion. Mr Bentley has not had any commercial relationship with A4e.
Mr Bentley was seconded from the Victorian Government in 2007 to advise Ms Gillard on social inclusion. He became Ms Gillard's chief of staff in April.
Job agencies seeking work placement contracts were required to address the issue of social inclusion in their bids.
The Government announced in April that A4e and another British firm had won about 2 per cent of the $4.9 billion worth of job services contracts.
Some Australian job agencies are suspicious about A4e's political connections and the probity of the tender process.
Russell King, chief executive of Sydney job agency Waverley Action Youth Services (WAYS), last month told a Sydney newspaper that he wanted to know details of discussions between ministerial offices, the department and A4E. WAYS lost its eastern Sydney contract to A4e.
Another job agency that lost its contracts has lodged a legal complaint over the Government's tender process. David Thompson, chief executive of Jobs Australia, which represents not-for-profit agencies, said there was no doubt the Government was "taken with the idea" of having international firms providing jobs services in Australia.
Ms Gillard's spokeswoman said there had been no discussion between the minister's office and the department regarding A4e.
She said Ms Gillard's office was not aware of Mr Blunkett's role with A4e when Mr Bentley met its executives last year.
She added that the Government had twice refused requests by A4e to meet directly with ministers.
The Howard government had allowed the company to meet its employment services minister Sharman Stone, she said.
A spokeswoman for A4e said the tender process had been conducted at arm's lengths from ministers and was overseen by an external probity adviser.