Probe into Westland spending

Deputy Auditor-General Greg Schollum will launch an inquiry into the Westland District Council’s decision to build a $1.3 million stopbank on the Waiho River, which runs next to the town of Franz Josef.

The auditor-general’s office, which is in charge of making sure government bodies operate properly, announced its decision on Thursday – a day after launching an inquiry into the Waikato District Health Board’s procurement of services from Healthtap. It is the third inquiry it has launched this year.

Mayor Bruce Smith and councillor Durham Havill announced their intention to build a stopbank on the flood-prone Waiho River earlier this year, despite repeated Government and West Coast Regional Council warnings that stopbanks would not solve the problem. Smith and Havill arranged for the work to be done by Greymouth-based MBD Contracting.

On July 2, the mayor posted to Facebook a video of a conversation he had with Havill next to the river about the urgent need to take action over flooding after ‘‘another downpour’’.

From the video it appeared Havill, the councillor overseeing the council’s water portfolio, had the idea to build up the stopbank after seeing rain in the area the night before.

‘‘We need a big bulldozer in here ... We’ve got to raise this road (the stopbank is a road) up a lot higher,’’ he said on the video.

The Facebook video was the first time the regional council and some district councillors were made aware of the plan.

The auditor-general’s office published the purposes of its inquiry on its website on Thursday afternoon: ‘‘How the council determined that emergency works were needed, the procurement and contract management practices adopted by the council for the works, and how any potential conflicts of interest were managed.’’

The office said it would not publicly comment on the inquiry until it was complete.

There is no expected completion date.

The auditor-general’s office does not currently have an auditor-general, leaving Schollum as the highest-ranking individual in the organisation.

At a council meeting after the Facebook video appeared, councillors were told Smith was declaring the Waiho River an ‘‘emergency’’ situation, which meant his council did not need prior approval from the West Coast Regional Council for the work, nor did it need to be tendered.

The council voted in favour of maintaining the flood embankment, but some councillors have since argued that Smith and Havill ordered a new stopbank to be built, much higher than the original.

The council also approved a new filtration gallery for the sewage ponds.

Cr Helen Lash, former deputy mayor, and two other councillors, have since alleged the work on the stopbank was not properly authorised by the council.

Lash claimed the council sanctioned the work on the understanding only maintenance would be done.

The council has not provided a breakdown of the costs of the Waiho River work.

Chief executive Simon Bastion said the council was ‘‘focusing our resources on providing the necessary information to assist’’ with the auditor-general’s inquiry.

‘‘Council has nothing further to add at this point in time.’’