Audit of troubled services launched

PROFESSIONAL audit firm KPMG Australia has held community engagement events on Mornington Island after winning a tender to conduct a review of three levels of government service.

In March this year State Minister Meaghan Scanlon – the Mornington Island Ministerial Champion – ordered the audit following a plea from Mornington Island Mayor Kyle Yanner.

Mornington Island residents in late November were invited to a forum to have their voices heard. Private sessions with KPMG staff were also available to residents.

Cr Yanner has been a vocal advocate for the remote Gulf of Carpentaria island and has championed a raft of solutions aimed at curbing sly grog use and type 2 diabetes and skyrocketing death rates.

This week Cr Yanner welcomed the audit and made clear it was “not about criticising” but aimed at identifying areas where service delivery could be improved.

He said continuing poor life outcomes experienced by First Nations people on Mornington Island did not measure up against the significant funding allocated to service provision on the island.

“They have to stop giving money to the same service providers if their numbers are down, they need to stop funding the failures,” he said.

“You can’t keep giving $10m to people who are not doing their job. “If these services providers are not fulfilling their duties they should be gotten rid of.” Mornington Island residents face significant hardship where one in 10 people are homeless, one in four are out of work and a significant part of the community has chronic illness. As reported by the Cairns Post earlier this year children are sleeping rough in overcrowded houses, drunks walk the street and booze-fuelled domestic disputes are common at what is meant to be an alcohol-free community.