Wayne Guppy: Upper Hutt Mayor on taxpayers being overcharged for contractors

The Upper Hutt Mayor says it was obvious the region's water agency was ripping off ratepayers for a long time. 

Report findings show a lack of oversight meant Wellington Water was paying nearly three times more to contractors for pipe work, compared with in other areas. 

Board Chair Nick Leggett says it means millions of ratepayer dollars wasted. 

Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy says Leggett must resign. 

He told Mike Hosking his council smelt a rat for years, but their concerns fell on deaf ears. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yet more material that reinforces the idea that Wellington is
a mess. This is the Wellington Ruter Report. Of course,
there's a scandal all over the place here. Theft was found,
cost of doing things were at times three times higher
than anywhere else. There was little of any oversight as
to whether they were being ripped off. So today we
end up with the obligatory emergency meeting. Of course, the
Upper Hearts City Mayor is Wayne Guppy has with us. Wayne,
morning to.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
You, Good morning Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
If I'd asked you six months ago whether this would
be as bad as it is, would you have said, yeah,
I already know about this.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, my counsel has been going on about this for
about three or four years. But it's falling on deaf is.
So we certainly smelled a rat. We thought we were
being over overcharged, and you know, the way it was
run wasn't right, But my fellow colleagues protected them and
continued to.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
When you say your fellow colleagues, you're talking about the
other councils.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
It's right correct. Expiring well Wellington initiated an independent review
some twelve to fifteen months ago, and it clearly showed
to a issues. The issues that have raised now out
of these two reports were there when the Melbourne and
Independent Company from Melbourne to the report, we tried to
get it onto the agenda of the Wellington Water Committee.
They didn't want to discuss it. No, and again so

(01:12):
that the warning signs were there and Wellington City had
had had initiated that that that that investigation on their
own and that was never discussed.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
PM yesterday said it's not a proper CECO needs to
be a proper CEO it does it and if it was,
would that have fixed it?

Speaker 2 (01:31):
With the governance structure probably would have would have been different.
And that's what we're hoping that as we work towards
the local water has done well. That's about fixing the
issues that you know, and there are a number of
issues the governments, the ownership, et cetera, et cetera. That's
where the government wants to head and that's what we're
working towards rather quickly and particularly now with the outcome
of these two reports.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
I looked at the executive board or the executive team
at Wellington Water. They all seem to be in acting
positions as there was sort of a change over going
on at the moment where a few people are being moved.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
On, well, there's people people have left and of course,
look me, uncertainty over the last three or four years,
and the water in the restrict probably hasn't helped as
far as the the you know, as far as personnel
concerned in the workforce, but certainly from the point of
view of where we sit today, I mean one in
and water should be in a holding pattern needs to
be set up. The new organization, good on you.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
One appreciate it, Wayne Guppy. Another indication of why this
country is buggered for.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
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