Should the ACT government staff the shops at its tips selling material otherwise destined for landfill with public servants instead of contracting the service out to a private operator or a charity?
It is the question the ACT's main public sector union failed to push publicly after the contract was awarded to a charity and a long-serving operator missed out, a grassroots group within the Community and Public Sector Union says.
The democracy4CPSU group, a small but vocal outfit which contested union elections last year in an effort to unseat officials with close links to the Labor party, believes the union should have done more to urge the government to directly employ people to run the service.
"What's missing from the public debate on the tender process around the Green Shed is whether it ought to have been insourced. It's unclear why the Community and Public Sector Union leadership didn't say this publicly - they are supposed to be the key advocates for insourcing," a spokesperson for the group said, marking its first public intervention since the union elections last year.
"An expanded, active public sector will be critical in turning the circular economy from a concept and a target into a reality, creating high-value jobs along the way. If the CPSU leadership won't say that, then rank-and-file CPSU members will."
The Green Shed, a private company, lost the contract to operate two reusable facilities, located at the Mugga Lane tip and the Mitchell waste transfer station. The company had operated since 2010, ran charity initiatives, and relied on employees rather than volunteers.
The Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate awarded the contract to the St Vincent de Paul Society, a Catholic charity which has long operated op shops across Canberra.
The government has faced stiff criticism over the decision to dump the popular Green Shed operators, with City Services Minister Tara Cheyne apologising for "regrettable" communication.
Maddy Northam, the CPSU's ACT regional secretary, said: "The CPSU is highly supportive of and campaigns for insourcing projects in the ACT, particularly in areas and functions that relate to CPSU members. This includes health services and Access Canberra.
"In regard to the Green Shed tender process, while supportive of insourcing generally, the CPSU is not the main union."
Auditor-General Michael Harris last month announced the Audit Office would consider the handling of the procurement and whether the ACT government got value for money and "provided for a fair, transparent and equitable process".
The audit will not consider whether it was appropriate for the government to put the services out to tender.
A spokeswoman for the ACT government said the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate considered insourcing reusable facilities in 2022.
"This assessment deemed that it was not a suitable candidate for insourcing. This was because many providers already offer a similar service in the region who are better suited to operate the service," the spokeswoman said.
"It was also noted that the outsourcing of the reusable facilities provides opportunities for social benefits to the community, such as including requirements to create jobs for people with barriers to employment, offering community training/education on repairs, reuse and upcycling, or to support local charity organisations."
