Former Wagga mayor Wayne Geale has rubbished council’s handling of a “devastating” planning department scandal which could amount to millions of wasted dollars.
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It comes after council on Tuesday revealed developers had been given seven-figure unauthorised discounts and strict environmental regulations were waived as part of selective favourable treatment.
On Tuesday, council general manager Alan Eldridge was at pains to stress the “need to be transparent with the community”, but one day later the city’s top bureaucrat refused an interview.
In a written statement, Mr Eldridge assured the Wagga community there was “no evidence any current staff are responsible for the legacy issues”, but Mr Geale is adamant “it is not feasible one person alone could be responsible”.
Mr Geale, whose tenure as mayor overlaps the period of time under scrutiny by a team of independent town planners, wants to know why senior council staff have not been stood aside while the investigation is undertaken.
“This stinks to the extent we’re not given any evidence, just told to patiently wait 18 months while it’s investigated,” Mr Geale said.
“Have they got all the bad eggs out of the organisation or are they leaving them where they are for the next year-and-a-half?
“Not to mention there’s only half a dozen builders in Wagga that undertake projects big enough to qualify for $1.5 million discounts; I find it incomprehensible this amount of money could go missing without others in council knowing.”
Tuesday’s revelations go back five years, coinciding with the hiring of former planning director Andrew Crakanthorp, who resigned from Wagga council under a corruption cloud in June.
However, The Daily Advertiser understands the latest “probe” is not the same report into undisclosed “allegations” levelled at Mr Crakanthorp that took 20 weeks to investigate and finished four months ago.
Last week, Cr Greg Conkey said the community had been “let down” by secrecy shrouding the unceremonious exit of the former high-ranking council official, but unequivocally blamed a third-party legal investigator for the delay.
Councillors have overwhelmingly distanced themselves from the scandal citing legal professional privilege, but have assured the community funds for major projects are “quarantined” and cannot be touched.
