‘‘That’s life’’, ‘‘we’re only human’’, ‘‘things happen’’ and ‘‘it’s a learning experience’’ were the refrains that echoed around Wollongong’s council chamber on Monday night, as councillors responded to a damning report into the administration’s asbestos fiasco.
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Most trod softly as they debated a plan to fix the bungle - revealed by the Mercury in May - in which council staff unwittingly dumped asbestos-contaminated soil mounds along the side of the Old Prince Highway and Wyllie Road in an effort to deter illegal dumpers.
An independent report, released last week, found ‘‘systemic issues’’ within the council including a lack of management systems, supervision and training, as well as confusion and ignorance about legislation and environmental requirements was to blame for the contamination.
During the debate, some councillors disagreed with aspects of the Internal Audit Bureau report, with several saying there were no systemic issues within the council.
‘‘In organisations of this size, mistakes can be made, and sometimes they do identify one area of council that is struggling and that needs review,’’ Liberal councillor Michelle Blicavs said.
‘‘I’m not trying to minimise the impact of this mistake, but I just want to keep some perspective on what we’re talking about here... I don’t think there is systemic failure.’’
Cr George Takacs also said he did not believe there was a systemic problem, while Liberal Bede Crasnich put the asbestos contamination down to an embarrassing accident.
‘‘It was an accident, it wasn’t on purpose, it’s a little embarrassing for the organisation... but you can’t throw people’s careers under a bus when they make a mistake,’’ Cr Crasnich said.
‘‘Human error is something we will never avoid... and I don’t think there are any systematic failures.’’
Independent councillor Greg Petty took a different tack, asking for a wide-ranging, staged review of all Wollongong City Council operations, including the Crown Street Mall budget, Flinders Street site remediation, capital works, all waste tenders and any projects over $25,000.
Cr Petty said the community was ‘‘feeling let down’’ by the council’s performance, and needed to know that the council was addressing the issues in the report.
‘‘The reins of the organisation need to be pulled,’’ he said.
‘‘A totally independent review of the organisation is mandatory to expose any other potential systemic problems in all the divisions.’’
But Cr Petty’s approach was labelled a ‘‘tactical thermonuclear device’’ by Cr Takacs, while Cr Crasnich - who has previously called Cr Petty a salami - insinuated that his motion was politically motivated and ‘‘a classless act’’.
In a successful motion, Labor’s David Brown moved to strengthen the council’s response from that suggested by general manager David Farmer, asking for greater scrutiny of the council’s plan to address the audit report’s 50 recommendations.
‘‘[The report] has said this has happened in one area, we need assurances from the general manager that it’s not happening in other areas of the organisation,’’ Cr Brown said.
‘‘How can we as councillors be confident that it’s not happening over here, in procurement or somewhere else.’’
Cr Brown also said councillors should take ‘‘a slice of whack’’ for the stuff up, as they had directed staff to save money.
‘‘Staff are out there saving money, and they have felt pressure to go further than the measures that already don’t comply with internal policies or regulatory requirements. That is very concerning, and we need to make sure that is stopped.
‘‘We told staff, through budget processes, to make this happen.’’
Cr Brown’s colleague Janice Kershaw agreed with his approach, but said she would not be taking any responsibility for a lack of adequate management and supervision.
‘‘I don’t take the blame... we were told that [budget] figures were achieveable, and therefore senior and lower level management should be able to find those savings without cutting corners,’’ she said.
‘‘But I actually think it’s positive... this could have been worse, and if it hadn’t have happened we wouldn’t have found out about these internal processes that were not occurring, and which haven’t been occurring for a very long time.’’
Councillors voted 11-1 to accept Cr Brown’s motion, with Cr Petty voting against, meaning the asbestos issue will again be considered by councillors during the October 24 council meeting.
