I rise to inform the house that the government has accepted all the recommendations of the Auditor-General’s performance audit on applying high-value, high-risk processes to unsolicited proposals, which was released today. In his comments, the Auditor-General observed that:

Well-planned, timely and high-quality infrastructure is essential in shaping a society that is prosperous, livable and sustainable …

There opposition members go, floating out of here on a bloviating wave of arrogance because they do not care about accountability or transparency.

Upon reading today’s report, we are led to the inescapable conclusion that the previous government’s unsolicited proposals framework was fundamentally deficient. It was developed in haste and out of desperation. It was a quick fix — a workaround — not a robust and workable process. Instead of a rigorous framework for allowing the public to gain the benefit of the ingenuity of the private sector, it was a fig leaf for a lazy government to be able to make flashy announcements after three years of inaction.

We acted immediately. On 20 February the Andrews Labor government released its market-led proposals framework. We put a stop to the backroom deals done under the Liberals. We made probity our highest priority.

We introduced a bill to establish Infrastructure Victoria. We welcome the Auditor-General’s statements in today’s report that he is pleased that the government has introduced that legislation to change how it plans and delivers infrastructure. He also acknowledges that the government has a clear intention around transparency and that evidence must underpin infrastructure decision-making. But there is always more that can be done. That is why I welcome this performance audit, and I am proud to say that the government has already begun implementing all its recommendations.