Ipswich City Council’s ground-breaking transparency and integrity hub is going out to tender.
A week after the newly-elected council adopted its first order of business – a motion from Mayor Teresa Harding to establish the hub – the open tender documents have been released.
Mayor Harding said council was seeking experts to set up a market-ready platform that can safely and efficiently pull financial data from various sources within council and then process and publish the data in an intuitive and consumable way.
The hub will be a first for local government in Australia and designed to set the gold standard for public sector governance.
Mayor Harding said a range of historic data will be published to enable benchmarking and transparency over previously hidden information.
She said the hub will completely transform and enhance council’s reporting and accountability over its current financial state, catapulting Ipswich ahead of the pack nationally.
“Ipswich has a wonderful opportunity to become a national leader in local government financial transparency,” the mayor said.
“And once we demonstrate we can be trusted with public monies, I will be seeking out public and private investment for enabling infrastructure.”
Deputy Mayor Marnie Doyle, who hails from a legal background in the banking and financial services sector with more than 25 years’ experience, said it was a significant step for council and the city of Ipswich.
“We’re on track to become an Australian first in transparent data-driven decision making which will enable us to restore community and stakeholder trust,” Cr Doyle said.
Eight of the nine-member council supported the mayor’s transparency and integrity hub motion.
“I am really proud to be part of a council that has adopted a vision to be a global leader in open and transparent public sector financial management,” said Cr Nicole Jonic, a qualified accountant.
“The hub will also enable us to better analyse financial data so we can find efficiencies and focus in on what really matters to our communities in all corners of the region,” said Cr Jacob Madsen.
“The mismanagement and misuse of this council’s financial and other resources has had a devastating impact on how our region is viewed, and it is now our responsibility to ensure that Ipswich reaches its potential,” said Cr Russell Milligan.
“It was a thrill and welcomed change for us to finally see our council in the media for the right reasons,” said Cr Kate Kunzelmann.
“Now more than ever, local businesses need to know that they can rely on council to be fair and consistent and do the right thing by our community,” said Cr Andrew Fechner.
Mayor Harding hoped the hub would be launched by 1 July 2020.
“Time is of the essence, but I have faith in the organisation because they know how important it is to get this right,” Mayor Harding said.
“We have no other choice, the people of Ipswich are depending on us to lay the past to rest and move forward.”
The tender closes 10am, 25 May 2020 and all relative documents can be accessed https://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/business/tenders
For all tender related queries, please contact Mr Richard White, Manager, Procurement on (07) 3810 7959.
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