The Australian newspaper first article on the Department of Immigration $150M contract for Manus Island
Thursday, 25 July 2013
A DIAC spokeswoman confirmed last night the contract had started on June 18. She noted that it may have been backdated once it had been finalised.
It may have been what? Backdated? Not a problem.
They wouldn't have known they had the contract from the date it was backdated to of course.
They wouldn't have had to do any work for us to backdate it.
It's just a bit of a bonus we hand out from time to time.
A bit of backdating here, a bit of contract variation there.
Not a problem.
Mining contractor Decmil denies Manus deal was leaked
- BY:ANDREW BURRELL
- From:The Australian
- July 25, 2013 12:00AM
Source: TheAustralian
MINING contractor Decmil Group has rejected claims that details of a $150 million contract it won from the federal government to build a detention centre on Manus Island were leaked to the market before being announced this month.
In trading that has raised questions over whether news of a politically sensitive government contract may have been leaked, Decmil's share price reversed several months of declines to surge by almost 30 per cent between June 12 and June 27 despite the company making no announcements.
During that period, shares in rival mining contractors were under pressure amid investor angst over the end of the resources investment boom. The contract between Perth-based Decmil and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship began on June 18. Decmil announced it to the Australian Securities Exchange on July 2.
A Decmil spokesman said the contract for the work in Papua New Guinea had been announced to the market immediately on receipt of the signed contract from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
A DIAC spokeswoman confirmed last night the contract had started on June 18. She noted that it may have been backdated once it had been finalised.When asked about trading in its shares yesterday, Decmil said a small number of its staff were aware of the contract before it was announced on July 2. These people were aware of their legal obligations in regard to market sensitive information.
The company declined to comment on share price movements.
"Our focus is on delivering outstanding projects for our clients, not on second-guessing what external parties may decide to do in terms of buying or selling shares in the company," the company said.
Serious allegations about trading in Decmil shares have been made in recent days on top-rating Sydney radio station 2GB and on the internet.
Among the major buyers of the stock in June were Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Argonaut Securities, one of Perth's leading stockbrokers, which was buying on behalf of a major institutional investor.
CBA and Argonaut both bought shares just before Decmil's contract with the Department of Immigration commenced on June 18.
Argonaut bought shares at an average price of $1.59. The shares are now trading at $2.08.
A spokesman for Argonaut said any suggestion of insider trading was "absolute and utter garbage".
He said Argonaut had started buying Decmil shares on June 13 and finished on June 20. The firm had bought across the resources services sector in that time.
Decmil said it had no communication with the Commonwealth Bank, one of its major shareholders, or any other investors about the Manus Island contract in advance of the July 2 announcement.
"It is worth noting that the Commonwealth has been a long-term supporter of Decmil, and has demonstrated a trend of increasing its holding in the company, so their buying activity is not out of the ordinary," it said.
you can read more on news print printed on paper somewhere (it's a generic descriptor, like "the internet")