The New Zealand Government is mirroring measures being progressed by a UK Procurement Bill to step up national security measures in public procurement.
The NZ Government recently revealed it has issued new guidance to come into effect on 14 August to assist buyers in assessing and managing national security risks
“While states typically exert influence on each other, deliberate and deceptive actions that aim to harm New Zealand pose significant national security risks. One potential avenue for such threats is through the supply of goods and services, granting foreign states access or control over sensitive assets, both physical and digital,” The New Zealand Government said on its website.
The NZ Government says forthcoming guidance will establish a standardised and comprehensive approach across government agencies. It aims to help them determine the presence of risks, outline what constitutes national security risks, offer a supplier risk matrix, provide a framework for risk mitigation in planning, sourcing, and management stages, and propose best practices and contract clauses.
In the UK, the latest milestone with the Procurement Bill has included developments to bolster national security.
It comes as Chinese-made Hikvision CCTV units purchased and installed at numerous UK government sites are due to be removed.
Cameras from the same company were located at 250 Australian Government sites earlier this year and removed due to similar security concerns.
One recommendation made under the UK Procurement Bill is for a National Security Unit for Procurement to be established with powers to investigate suppliers.
A further amendment is to allow bidders to be banned from sensitive sectors, while able to win contracts in non-sensitive areas.
“These new measures will protect our sensitive sectors from companies which could threaten national security and are a firm deterrence to hostile actors who wish to do Britain harm,” Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General Jeremy Quin said.
The UK Government said the new National Security Unit for Procurement would “draw on a full range of expertise within government and respond swiftly to emerging threats, such as companies looking to win public contracts in order to gain access to sensitive information or sites which could be used to compromise government and society.”
It says the Unit would work across government and even with intelligence agencies.
The new Bill, due to be introduced next year, aims to “reform the UK’s public procurement regime, making it quicker, simpler, more transparent and better able to meet the UK’s needs while remaining compliant with our international obligations.”
