Finance Minister Katy Gallagher opposes longer PwC ban

Labor is being warned not to allow PwC to apply again for government contracts, after calls for the firm to be barred for another five years.

Finance Katy Gallagher at a Parliament House media conference in May. ‘Going to a five-year ban of one company is something, well, we would have to justify that,’ she says. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Labor is being warned not to “let the wolves back into the sheep paddock” and allow PwC to apply again for government contracts, despite calls for the major accounting firm to be barred from receiving commonwealth funds for another five years.

Jim Chalmers this week left the door open to the Greens’ proposal for the ban on PricewaterhouseCoopers, declaring he “took seriously” the measures being called for, and “took into consideration all of the things that are put forward to us”.

However, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher on Friday cautioned against a multi-year ban on PwC because Labor “relied on them” to undertake necessary government work.

“Going to a five-year ban of one company is something, well, we would have to justify that,” she told ABC. “We do have to work with the private sector – we rely on them to provide work to the commonwealth.”

Senator Gallagher said PwC was not being given any contracts until December.

The call for a multi-year ban on PwC was made by the Greens in a dissenting report tabled as part of a major investigation by the Senate finance and public administration references committee, after revelations PwC personnel attempted to use confidential government information and planned tax changes to attract more business.

Greens senator Barbara Pocock, who sat on the committee investigating PwC, said the final report produced by the two major parties had presented a “weak set of recommendations” and more needed to be done.

Senator Pocock lashed Senator Gallagher’s comments and said the ability for PwC to recommence government work within six months would allow the firm to continue “business as usual”.

“Labor should be wary about letting the wolves back into the sheep paddock,” Senator Pocock said.

“I think the Finance Minister should be erring on the side of caution here, not setting dates for the re-entry of PwC back into the fold.

“If (PwC) are allowed to waltz back on to the government procurement panels on December 1, as Katy Gallagher has foreshadowed, then we risk going back to business as usual for the big four.”

But Senator Gallagher argued significant reputational damage had already been done to PwC, with the firm having lost significant revenue and hundreds of staff as a result of the scandal.

“They have certainly had significant reputational damage. Their work with the commonwealth in terms of ongoing work … contracts that existed, is much diminished,” she said.

“So I think there has been financial consequences, but also significant reputational damage. And not just to PwC, but to the broader consultancy sector as well.”

The firm still faces a range of other reviews and investigations, including a federal police inquiry, and will need to implement a number of new transparency measures as recommended by the Senate committee.