Published on Friday, 7 February 2025 at 3:50:57 PM
The Town of Port Hedland would like to assure residents and ratepayers that there is no “mismanagement” of its finances, as reported in a recent media article.
An article from the North West Telegraph asserts that the Town has failed to account for $17m of council assets.
“This reporting misinterprets the facts,” Town of Port Hedland Mayor Peter Carter said.
“The facts are that the Town had a list of assets that are spread across all its parks and open spaces, such as park benches and fences, that was not up to date.
“We then found many of the assets listed were duplicated, damaged or actually didn’t belong to the Town,” Mayor Carter said.
"The records were then updated in the 2023-24 financial year, representing an accurate account of the Town’s assets.
“It is untrue to say there is financial mismanagement,” Mayor Carter said.
“The article attempts to argue the Town has lost $17 million worth of assets, or that a $17 million-sized hole has been found in its records. This is absolutely incorrect,” Mayor Carter said.
The Town received a qualified audit report, which simply means a change in some small details were identified, but did not impact the overall financial reporting.
Another area highlighted by the auditor was that the Town had revalued properties, meaning the latest financial report is more accurate than the previous report.
“To suggest the Town has mismanaged its finances is wrong. It is an unfair representation of the high-quality work that goes on behind the scenes by the administration.”
Back to All News