It is remarkable that both Bayside and Port Phillip councils switched waste collection contractors in July but only Port Phillip managed to stuff it up. Residents are now calling for an independent review by the Council’s decision-making process and implementation of appointing the new waste contractor, Citywide which is wholly owned by the City of Melbourne.  

St Kilda resident Trevor White said on social media “The Audit and Risk committee needs to undertake an independent investigation and get to the bottom of this issue and ensure better systems for the future, particularly when there is a tender process and new service providers appointed”. 

“The City of Port Phillip Audit and Risk Committee needs to undertake an independent investigation into the tender specification, selection process, compliance process and how this ‘Wastegate’ stuff up occurred”, said Trevor White. 

The backlash on social media is profound especially when residents are usually disengaged with local government. Council have reported that about 10% of properties have been impacted. This equates to about 4,000 homes. 

Mayor Heather Cunsolo said on commercial radio that the disruption to waste collection was caused by mapping systems glitch, but the ongoing issues reported on social media suggest the cause of the problem may be more than a simple mapping error. 

An independent review should identify how the error occurred and council staff or Citywide or both are responsible for the disruption to waste services. A review needs to be done to ensure this type of disruption to service delivery doesn't happen again when new contractors are selected and inducted.

The CEO must publish the results of an audit and risk committee (ARCO) review to ensure good governance, transparency, and accountability.

An independent review is clearly the responsibility of ARCO because its charter, clearly states the committee “plays an important role in providing oversight of Port Phillip Council’s governance, risk management, and internal control practices.  This oversight mechanism also serves to provide confidence in the integrity of these practices”. Source https://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/media/m22f4pbf/13-1-attachment-1-audit-and-risk-committee-charter-2022.pdf

Residents may be surprised that the City of Port Phillip has an audit and risk committee because it does not publish the agenda and minutes of its meetings. By contrast the City of Adelaide publishes the agendas and minutes of its audit and risk committee meetings.  https://meetings.cityofadelaide.com.au/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=140

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