Unanimous Vote to Back Local Business

Published 27 May 2020

More Council contracts will flow to more Moreton Bay Region businesses following today’s unanimous vote by Council to endorse a ‘Local Preference’ policy.

Mayor Peter Flannery said the initiative would take immediate effect from tomorrow (Thursday 28 May).

“Never has there been a more urgent need for Council to support local jobs for local residents, as we look for initiatives to help our local economy through the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

“Council will now amend our policies to ensure Local Preference is considered in all future procurement activities.”

Specifically this means Council will:

• Award contracts worth $50,000 or less to local businesses, in the first instance.  If the local businesses cannot supply, do not have the capability or do not provide value for money, then contracts may be awarded to non-local businesses.
• For contracts greater than $50,000, a local preference weighting of 15% will be applied to the tender evaluation scores.  This means a local business could get up to 15 additional points added to the tender evaluation score, giving them a ‘leg up’ in the tender assessment.

Mayor Peter Flannery said tenders would still have to be cost competitive. 

“In accordance with Council’s Procurement Policy tenders are scored against a range of evaluation criteria including price, capability and capacity among others,” he said.

“Council will be applying a value for money test, as all tenders, local or otherwise, must deliver value to ratepayers.

“Council’s ‘Local Preference’ initiative is not about giving local businesses a hand out, but rather a leg up.

“Hence giving weighted favour towards companies depending on how invested they are in our region.

“Businesses operating outside southeast Queensland are still encouraged to tender for council contracts but won’t receive a local preference score.

“I’m proud Council has taken such decisive action today.

“As a Council we’re responsible for managing ratepayer dollars and I believe ratepayers would like to think that their money is backing local business, supporting mum-and-dad operators and creating local jobs.

“This isn’t just about giving local firms a competitive edge through Council’s tender process, it’s also about helping businesses in Moreton Bay Region to innovate and grow.

“Local businesses have a vested interest in our community.  I think giving preference to local companies will also help improve project delivery and timeline efficiency.  

“So I urge local Moreton Bay businesses to register for VendorPanel Marketplace and monitor LG Tenderbox  for upcoming Council tenders, because I want to see those ratepayer dollars pumped back into our community and helping to keep our economy thrive through these tough times.”

All tenders are assessed in accordance with Council’s Procurement Policy and the mandatory selection criteria are set out in the tender documentation.

To register for Council tenders, visit the MBRC Stimulus Package page.

For information on Council’s current procurement policies visit: https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/files/assets/public/services/policies/procurement-policy.pdf