Newcastle council is 'reviewing' its pools, but tenders have already closed seeking private operators for up to 21 years

The tenders closed in early September, but City of Newcastle has also confirmed that a twice-delayed review of its pools management policies is still under way.

The council says its five pools are managed under contracts "commenced in 2014 under a previous council administration" - a reference to a July 22, 2014, decision by the council under Jeff McCloy as lord mayor - now CEO at North Sydney Council.

Labor councillors and the United Services Union opposed that decision but the council confirmed this week that the 2014 contract had been rolled over every 12 months since 2019 without being taken to the full council for approval.

IN THE NEWS:

The council contracts with Sydney-based leisure management company BlueFit were extended before their June 30, 2019, expiry for "a rolling 12-month holding over period while (the) review was undertaken".

COVID forced an "extended closure" on the pools in 2020 and 2021 and the management review was twice delayed until the council was "sure there would be no further COVID-19 shutdowns".

The council spokesperson said the decision to extend the BlueFit contract had not been taken to the elected council, because "the value of the roll-over period was less than $1 million".

The spokesperson said this was "consistent with the Local Government Act", where only contracts over $1 million needed approval from the full council.

Asked why council management did not feel a need to have the extension debated before the open council, given the controversy it had caused originally, a council spokesperson said that "while not required under the Act, our councillors were notified in writing on February 1, 2019, that the existing contract for the operation of the city's pools was being rolled over for a period of at least 12 months".

"The contract has since been extended twice by one year because of our pools closing for many months in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19," the council said.

In a statement, the council said a "tender process under the supervision of an independent probity adviser has been required so that staff can understand the future cost of operating our pools if done via the pools industry, as well as the industry's willingness to invest in the upgrade of our pools".

"This information is required to accurately complete a review of the operation of our local pools and future costs of any future upgrades. The review's focus is on the continued operation and upgrade of our local pools, and ensures no loss of council jobs."

"The state Member for Wallsend has not asked City of Newcastle any questions regarding the BlueFit contract since its commencement almost eight years ago."

Internal ALP conflict over the council's management of the pools became public on Monday when the Newcastle Herald reported a stoush involving Labor Newcastle councillors led by Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and her deputy, Declan Clausen, on one side, and Ms Hornery on the other.

Further details of the pools fight emerged on Tuesday, when the Herald reported on an ALP motion from Ms Hornery's Wallsend branch criticising the council, and the Lambton, New Lambton and Kotara South branch of Cr Nelmes and Cr Clausen accusing Ms Hornery of "deliberate dissemination of misinformation regarding (ALP) party and council process, policy and intentions".

Cr Nelmes said the pools would always remain in public ownership under Labor.

The previous council itself described the BlueFit contracts as "a privatisation of management" back in 2014.

Ms Hornery said she only learned this week of the tender she described as potentially "privatising all five of Newcastle's pools for 21 years".

She said the Port of Newcastle had been similarly leased, and it was described as a privatisation.

She was concerned about the privatisation of council assets and did not believe the public would approve of what the council had been doing, especially given "there has been no evidence of community consultation".

She welcomed the review but said the tendering should not have started until after the review was finished.

"The community has very clearly let me know of their views on this issue and I would encourage council to conduct community consultation on these matters," Ms Hornery said.

Labor Ward Three councillor Peta Winney-Bartz said on behalf of all Labor councillors that the elected council had not made a decision or been given a report on the pools.

She said the councillors had been told that staff were assessing options and that "given the complexity of this matter", it would likely take some months. A probity adviser was overseeing the process to ensure "good governance".

Cr Winney-Bartz said council staff had told her that stakeholders were notified about the tender and the review, pointing to coverage in an online council news site, Inside Local Government, on July 20.

"As has been publicly communicated, the council officers have been going through a pool review, EOI and tender process. This was publicly communicated and was the subject of media reporting earlier in the year. The Officers advised that stakeholders were notified, including staff representatives. https://insidelocalgovernment.com.au/newcastle-floats-pool-tenders/," she said.

"As a team of Labor councillors, our expectation is that any recommendation to the elected councillors includes both public and private investment into community-owned facilities to ensure that we can continue delivering high-quality services. We expect that the costs and benefits of a council managed option will be considered and assessed, following the procedures outlined by the Office of Local Government.

"The community must have confidence in the decisions of its local council, and due process must be followed. Tenders are conducted following the procedures set by the Act and Office of Local Government."

She said under Newcastle Labor, the pools would "always remain in public ownership" and she called on Ms Hornery to "to work collaboratively with staff and councillors to secure funding and improvements to our pools, as MPs in many other areas have done for their communities."

Cr Winney Bartz added that calls for "councillors to predetermine a tender process are at odds with the OLG and ICAC guidelines on what councillors can consider when exercising their duties."

RELATED READING:

WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.