Published on Wednesday, 1 November 2023 at 8:42:57 AM
The City will seek quotes for an independent review of the process and procedures used in relation to Water Supply Contract Agreement following Council’s endorsement at Monday night’s meeting.
The motion for a probity report was originally requested by former Councillor, Suzie Williams, however, due to the matter being outside of the Council’s Caretaker Policy, the item was referred to the first Council Meeting following the election.
Mayor Glenn Wilson said the review would provide new and returning Councillors the opportunity to find out more information, particularly about the process and the factual information in relation to the contract process and obligations.
“In addition, this independent review will also provide residents with confidence that the City’s governance processes and procedures are appropriate when considering entering into commercial agreements.”
“There’s an obvious amount of public confusion around this matter, with an assumption that the water shortages faced earlier this year were due to an oversupply to those on commercial recycled waste-water agreements.
“We understand that the larger agreements have been a fundamental component of business cases for companies such as Lynas to establish their new operations in the City and that without the provision of industry-suitable water, the plant would not have been developed in its current location.”
“However, as a collective, we as an incoming Council feel it important to be across current and future contracts and ensure that appropriate levels of transparency is available for residents.”
The City’s CEO will now seek quotes for the independent review and refer these along with the final scope of works to the City’s Audit and Risk Committee, who will make a decision on the appointment of a qualified provider to undertake the review.
A report will be provided by the Audit and Risk Committee to Council once the process has been completed.
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