December 22, 2015
Any potential buyers of the ASIC business registry would need to prove their commitment to retaining the workforce in the Latrobe Valley, according to Federal MP Darren Chester.
Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann today announced the Australian Government had started the ‘indicative bid phase’ of its market-testing process, to determine the ability of a private operator to upgrade, operate and add value to the ASIC business registry.
Mr Chester said this next phase did not mean the ASIC registry was being sold, but was part of the wider market testing process being undertaken by the Department of Finance.
“Throughout the market testing phase, the government has made it clear to bidders its strong preference for maintaining the existing operations in Traralgon and Latrobe Valley area more broadly,” Mr Chester said.
“It is now up to those bidders who are serious about buying ASIC to show exactly how they would upgrade and add value to the Traralgon operations.
“This next stage of the process will give us a clearer picture about the level of that commitment. I suspect the strongest bidders will be the ones who are most committed to retaining jobs in Traralgon.”
Mr Chester said the government would assess the extent to which indicative bids take into account the government’s strong preference to maintaining the Traralgon workforce.
“We have an experienced and well-trained workforce at the Traralgon registry, so I imagine it would be an easy decision for any potential operator to maintain the existing workforce where it currently is,” Mr Chester said.
“In the meantime, it will continue to be business as usual for the Traralgon workers.
“I look forward to continue working with the Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann, my federal and state colleagues, Russell Broadbent and Russell Northe, and Latrobe City Mayor Michael Rossiter, on stressing the importance of retaining these jobs in Traralgon.”
Indicative bids are now open and are due by 4 pm, February 23, 2016. No further decisions will be made on future steps, until the indicative bids have been evaluated.
The Commonwealth will retain ownership of the ASIC Registry’s data.
Further information is available on the Department of Finance website
