Independent Review of QLDC Three Waters Programme Demonstrates Readiness to Deliver

The Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) Three Waters Programme developed as part of the 2018-2028 Ten Year Plan has been positively recognised as part of an independent Ernst & Young review.

The report, completed in November 2018, was commissioned by QLDC and undertaken by multinational professional services firm, Ernst & Young (EY). Faced with an infrastructure programme and investment almost three times larger than what the district and QLDC has delivered before, QLDC officers needed to understand the overall ‘readiness’ of the Council team.

QLDC General Manager Property & Infrastructure, Peter Hansby, explained that ‘readiness’ included ensuring the right frameworks and governance were in place to ensure the success of the programme and enable continuous improvement.

“It’s reassuring, when we have a programme of this magnitude ahead of us, to receive the feedback that the risks and issues are well understood and that we have the right delivery structure in place. In particular this is important given that we are taking a new approach in bundling the packages of work in a way we have not done before to make both tendering and delivery processes as efficient as they can be,” said Mr Hansby.

He added, “the real value comes in understanding the areas that need to be improved, clarified or documented to avoid any problems when delivering the number of projects planned, and recognising how well the team has responded to this feedback to address any issues.”

The QLDC Audit, Finance & Risk committee reviewed the report in December 2018. Councillor Ross McRobie, Chair for the Audit, Finance & Risk committee, said he and his fellow council and independent committee members were “pleased to have been able to endorse this report, the observations and recommendations”.

Key points of strength of the programmes as recognised by the EY report include:

> Rapid improvement and maturity in the programme, ensuring systems, processes and capability in place to successfully deliver the programme.

> A strong team culture willing to improve and collaborate.

> A high level of engagement with industry, recognised as a standout example of communication in local government.

Having taken the important step to commission this review, ongoing monitoring will be undertaken to ensure tangible improvements are made to ensure the best possible outcome for the community.

“EY will be completing further reviews this summer and autumn ahead of the market release of a number of bundled projects mid-year. These will be deeper ‘drill-down’ health checks at key programme milestones to make sure we’re on track to deliver,” Mr Hansby said.

ENDS

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