Article from: The Australian
ONE of the federal government's top public servants has been accused of having a vested interest in ensuring that Victoria's troubled e-conveyancing system becomes a template for the promised national system.
Peter Harris, who is about to take office as secretary of the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, was caught in a "hopeless" conflict of interest, according to opposition communications spokesman Nick Minchin."This chap will no doubt have a very significant vested interest in the Victorian system being seen as the template for a national system," Senator Minchin said. "It will reflect enormously badly on him if that is not the case, or if the Victorian system is made utterly redundant."
Before being appointed this week to the federal public service, Mr Harris ran the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, which spent at least $50 million building a state-based e-conveyancing system.
If the long-promised single national system is rolled out, it would call into question the continued need for a separate Victorian system.
"I fear that (Mr Harris) will be hopelessly conflicted," said Senator Minchin.
"It is almost the situation where he would have to declare that conflict of interest and play no part whatsoever in the commonwealth's moves in this area."
However, a spokesman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said Mr Harris would be leading a department that had no involvement in the national e-conveyancing project.
Senator Conroy said Mr Harris had extensive public service experience and would be a valuable leader of the department.
Senator Minchin said he was also concerned about whether the troubled history of electronic conveyancing in Victoria meant Mr Harris might not be the best person to run the department during the rollout of the $43billion national broadband network.
While the state government says the system, known as ECV, has processed more than 600 "transactions", it has been boycotted by solicitors and the major banks. As a result, just one of the matters processed by ECV has been a full property settlement.
Senator Minchin said Mr Harris had been head of a state government department "that has had responsibility for what appears to be an unbelievable white elephant and bottomless pit of wasted Victorian government money".
"If you cannot manage the establishment of an electronic conveyancing system in Victoria without it becoming a major flop, then what does that say about the $43bn broadband network?" Senator Minchin asked.
State opposition frontbencher David Davis said Victorians were entitled to be surprised by Mr Harris's appointment.
"This IT white elephant has been overseen by DSE and Mr Harris at an expense of more than $50m and unfortunately not more than one full conveyancing transaction has been completed," he said.
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Poor track record
IT is almost possible to feel sorry for Peter Harris. Before he has even taken office as the new secretary of the department of communications and the digital economy, Nick Minchin is laying into him.
But Harris has an unfortunate track record in Victoria as head of the department that oversaw the construction of the state's electronic conveyancing system, ECV.
It was on Harris's watch that his department churned through $50 million in public money building a conveyancing system that fails to meet the bare minimum requirements of the conveyancing industry.
The Law Institute of Victoria will not recommend it and the major banks will not use it. As head of the department of communications, Harris will not be responsible for electronic conveyancing. But he'll have a key role in the massive national broadband network. That project is so important that Minchin was entirely justified in turning the spotlight on what happened in Victoria.
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