SPEED-CAMERA operations look set to be privatised in WA, prompting fears that profiteering might overtake road-safety priorities.
Police Minister Rob Johnson revealed yesterday that his staff had been involved in ``introductory meetings'' with British firm Serco, which wanted to run WA's multimillion-dollar speed-camera operations.
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Obviously a lot of proceeds from Victoria are going towards ventures such as UK and U.S. military missions.
What is Serco hiding?
Date: May 7, 2013
The influx of asylum seekers may be a matter of national acrimony but there are those who welcome the boats with open arms and broad smiles. The British multinational which operates Australia's detention centres is one of them.
Serco is rolling in it. According to its opaque financial statements which have just been filed, Serco Australia Pty Ltd enjoyed a rise in net profit from $49 million to $128 million last year. ...
...Nine years ago, the company prepared a 'general purpose' financial report for the year ended December 31, 2003. The auditor was Deloitte. Then, Serco had 1343 employees, $127 million in revenues and $63 million in gross assets.
...Somehow since then, Serco and its auditors have managed to transmogrify this reporting entity into a non-reporting entity. It is a gross failure in disclosure and accountability, says accounting expert from the University of NSW, Jeff Knapp. It is a failure, he says, which represents the extent to which 'financial reporting among Australia's leading proprietary companies has become a shambles”.
..But there is a more plausible explanation, and that is that Deloitte isn't exactly over-servicing its large proprietary client and has just pocketed its $1 million in audit fees without getting the dates right. It probably meant to say 2012.
...“Serco and Deloitte seem to have taken a path of doing whatever it takes to avoid disclosures,” says Jeff Knapp. “Serco and Deloitte have some explaining to do. Who is going to hold them to account? The government, the corporate regulator (ASIC), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia?
Victoria in focusInterestingly for Victorians, the 2012 year accounts for Serco Traffic Camera Services (Vic) Pty Ltd (STCV) are out.
And business is good. Net profit after tax increased to $3.5 million on revenues of $32 million in the 2012 year.
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That's gotta make us feel a whole safer that Serco are enjoying massively rising annual profits.