Mayor Tory Whanau and a group of councillors have called for Wellington Water chairperson Nick Leggett to be removed after a scathing report into the organisation.
The council has written to the Wellington Water Committee following Monday’s release of reports showing unplanned water maintenance spending had risen dramatically compared to other councils across the country among issues at Wellington Water.
The letter to the committee, signed by Whanau and 13 councillors and pouiwi, called for Leggett’s removal and requested refunds for ratepayers from contractors who allegedly overcharged for maintenance work.
“The public response to the reports is one of anger and frustration. Rightly so given that millions of dollars in hard earned rate payer money has lined the pockets of contractors while our pipes have further deteriorated over recent years,” Whanau’s letter read.
“The reports from Deloitte and AECOM point to ‘systematic and widespread’ issues with contracting, project management and assurance at Wellington Water.
Wellington Water has released a scathing report, after a probe uncovered alleged theft, poor value for money from contractors and structural issues. (Source: 1News)
“They have not come out of the blue as questions around these have been raised by council staff, councillors and independent experts in recent years. The result is millions of dollars wasted and ratepayers want to see those responsible held to account.
“As it stands, myself and a majority of Wellington City councillors and pouiwi, do not have confidence in Nick Leggett as chairperson of the Wellington Water Limited and Leanne Southey as the board member responsible for audit and risk.”
Several Wellington City councillors — including Diane Calvert, Nicola Young, Tony Randle and Nureddin Abdurahman — did not sign the strongly-worded letter.
The letter included several other calls for accountability measures and requests.
Wellington Water was jointly owned by six councils across the region, including Wellington City, Greater Wellington, Porirua, Hutt City, Upper Hutt and South Wairarapa.
“These actions to deal with the issues at Wellington Water Limited recognise the severity of the failings at the organisation. If we fail to act appropriately then ultimately those failings will be our own,” Whanau’s letter added.
A spokesperson for Wellington Water said neither the board chair or boardmember Leanne Southey were able to make any comment until after they had spoken with shareholders.
