A Wellington city councillor is calling for legal action against Wellington Water after a damming investigation into the company.
It comes after the release yesterday of two reports which found structural problems, poor value for money from contractors, and an incident of alleged theft at the agency.
It found the capital’s ratepayers were paying nearly three times more for water repairs than in other parts of the country.
City councillor Tim Brown told RNZ that he would instigate an effort for the council to take legal action against the directors of Wellington Water relating to how much money has been lost.
“It’s a large amount of money and it’s a very consequential failure and there should be heads rolling and there should be legal accountability.”
He had sought legal advice from the city council and external sources as well.
“The advice I have had back is that it is something we could investigate.”
Brown wanted Wellington Water chair Nick Leggett to resign.
Ben McNulty said that there would be an emergency meeting with the Wellington Water committee (the council leadership of Wellington Water) which will discuss the “future of key staff” in the water provider.
City councillor Ray Chung said Wellington Water had a meeting with the Auditor General yesterday morning regarding the reports.
It comes after the release yesterday of two reports which found structural problems, poor value for money from contractors, and an incident of alleged theft at the agency.
It found the capital’s ratepayers were paying nearly three times more for water repairs than in other parts of the country.
Wellington Water board chair Nick Leggett said he was “taking soundings” on whether he should resign.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts said he has sought advice from officials about Wellington Water after yesterday’s report, and expects to get information in the next few days.
He said the government’s Local Water Done Well policy will ensure council controlled organisations like Wellington Water will be financially sustainable.
rnz.co.nz
