Neil Mitchell exposes $3.6m of Vic government contract breaches — in ONE department

FIRST with NEIL MITCHELL

More than $3 million of contract breaches have been exposed by a single Victorian government department that hasn’t been following proper process.

Neil Mitchell today revealed the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) failed to seek approval for several contracts in the 2018-19 financial year.

All DELWP contracts worth $150,000 or more should be ticked off by the chief procurement officer.

But data obtained by 3AW Mornings via a state opposition Freedom Of Information request shows that $3.6m worth of contracts were either started or signed-off outside the rules within 12 months.

The biggest contract breaching the rules was worth $1.6m, which went to multiple suppliers for a “financing and support panel”.

Click PLAY to hear Heidi Murphy detail the breaches with Neil Mitchell

“That’s not to say it’s a rort but the rules are there for a reason,” Neil Mitchell said.

The Planning Minister’s office later clarified that a contract awarded to former VicRoads chief John Merritt was ticked off appropriately, and wrongly appeared among the breaches due to an administrative error.