Audit opinion ‘absurd'
The council said yesterday it received the adverse audit opinion for its decision to include water services ahead of Southern Water Done Well consultation outcomes, a step taken to ensure transparency and protect the integrity of the process.
The 2025-34 long-term plan, scheduled for adoption today, includes the council's current in-house water services delivery model across the nine-year life of the plan.
The Office of the Auditor-General had advised councils that if they were consulting on a preferred water services delivery option, under the government's Local Water Done Well legislation, that preferred option should be reflected in their long-term plans.
Council chief executive Debbie Lascelles said the decision to include the current in-house water services model in the plan was based on legal advice and reflected the council's commitment to open and honest communication.
"We made a deliberate choice to include water services in the long-term plan because to do otherwise would pre-empt the outcome of the Southern Water Done Well consultation and risk judicial review."
She stressed the underlying financial information for the first two years of the plan was robust and based on the best information the council had available at the time.
Gore District Mayor Ben Bell said the decision to retain water services in the plan had the unanimous support of elected members.
"It's frankly absurd that the auditor-general is penalising us for being transparent with our community."
— APL
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