Councils lack engineering expertise to manage public works

Councils in New South Wales are managing a $131 billion asset portfolio and overseeing public works and infrastructure projects without the expertise of a chief engineer.
In addition to massive infrastructure portfolios, local government also manage 85 per cent of the state's road network.
Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) chief executive, John Roydhouse, has called for the mandatory appointment of chief engineers at every council to sign off on infrastructure projects. There are 152 councils in NSW.
“Calls are being made to appoint chief financial officers at each council but engineers are equally important, its not just about the balance sheet,” Roydhouse told CCN.
“Under section 29 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act, councillors are legally liable which is why qualified engineers are needed to provide top-level technical advice on important projects.”
The IPWEA's call to action follows legal advice prepared for Local Government NSW (LGNSW).
“Councillors have effectively been legally flying blind, with no clear legislative requirement that an engineer with sufficient experience to oversee, approve and advise on councils' infrastructure decision making,” Roydhouse said.
“We can't waste time waiting for individual councils to make ad-hoc and patchwork solutions to cover potential liabilities.”
Roydhouse was supported by  IPWEA NSW president, Warren Sharpe, who said councillors are walking through a legal minefield every time they approve an important piece of infrastructure.
“Infrastructure planning and construction needs to be signed off by someone with the right technical expertise and qualifications,” he said.
A spokesperson for LGNSW said a wide range of proposals are currently being considered as part of the local government reform process “Fit for the Future”.
More than 140 councils across the state have submitted proposals to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for assessment.
IPART has received more that 1,550 submissions from residents and other stakeholders on the council proposals.
IPART hands its final report to the Minister on October 16, 2015.