By NOEL MURPHY
A MAYORAL candidate has attacked former premier Jeff Kennett after a consultancy he chairs recommended that City Hall sell off assets worth $56 million.
Anthony Aitken questioned how council commissioned Mr Kennett’s CT Management Group to undertake a review of its finances without the job going to compulsory competitive tendering, which the Kennett Government implemented at Victorian councils.
The review, which ex-mayor Keith Fagg ordered as an independent analysis of council finances, suggested the possible sale of Old Geelong Gaol, Osborne House, Elcho Park, Queen’s Park and the Balyang par-three golf courses.
A month earlier Mr Kennett was reported calling for administrators to replace councillors if they were unable to work out governance issues related to council’s $7.2-million-a-year ward funding scheme.
Mr Aitken said the independence of the CT Management Group report was “prejudiced” because Jeff Kennett’s involvement was undisclosed and he had “a stated position to sell-off community-owned assets”.
“Why was a quotation process and not competitive tendering process used to appoint CT Management Group to undertake the review?
“Only with the answers to these questions can community confidence be restored in the report.”
Mr Aitken said Mr Kennett’s support for selling community-owned assets and downsizing governments was a widely known “fact”.
Mr Aitken backed acting mayor Bruce Harwood’s opinion that council’s finances were “in a very strong financial position”.
Mr Kennett hit back at Mr Aitken, saying council ticked off all probity regulations before appointing CT Management.
He accused Mr Aitken of “being electorally irresponsible” to curry favour with voters.
“I’ve read the report and, yes, they’ve identified a number of assets owned by the greater Geelong council that either lie idle (or) are in excess of need and some are assets where CT Management has asked questions whether these are assets that a council should necessarily be owning,” he said.
“I have no qualms about the process that led to the appointment of a Geelong-based firm that works Australia-wide. I’m very proud to be chair of it and can assure the community everything is above board.”
Mr Kennett said councils across the country were considering asset sales to enhance synergies and efficiencies.
“My comment to this prospective mayor is that, if he is trying to curry favour by being electorally irresponsible, ratepayers should put him last on their ticket,” he said.
Cr Harwood said the CT Management report cost less than the threshold requiring a compulsory competitive tendering process.
“We got three quotes for the work to be done and CT Management was deemed the most appropriate and that’s why it was chosen.”
