2021-05-17 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA     17 MAY 2021




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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                                     17 MAY 2021

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            (d)    otherwise as set out in Council’s Procurement Probity Plan.

     Summary of Observations

    4.      On 1 March 2021, Leigh Mooney emailed me to seek to clarify drafting of the tender response
            schedule. | responded on 1 March 2021. The query did not turn on a probity issue.
    5.      On 1 April 2021, Leigh Mooney emailed me to advise that Council intended to extend the
            tender closing time from 2pm 2 April 2021 (being Good Friday) to 2pm Tuesday 6 April 2021,
            the next business day. On 7 April 2021, Ms Mooney confirmed that the tender closing time
            had been extended, and that fact had been communicated to all tenderers via the
            VendorPanel communication facility at 3.10pm on 1 April 2021.

    6.      Possible Perceived Conflict of Interest

            (a)    On 7 April 2021, Ms Mooney emailed me to request my advice about 2 possible
                   perceived conflict of interest issue involving a member of the Evaluation Panel and
                   one of the tender respondents.

            (b)    The issue was raised by the affected member of the Evaluation Panel by email to Denis
                   Wallace on 7 April 2021.

            (c)    On 8 April 2021, | provided advice by email to Mr Wallace and Ms Mooney in response
                   to the query, which set out recommendations about managing the possible perceived
                   conflict of interest.

            (d)    On 8 April 2021, Mr Wallace emailed me to advise that the Evaluation Panel will
                   proceed on the basis of my recommendation.

            (e)   Ms Mooney recorded the issue and subsequent steps taken in a file note that was
                   provided to me for review on 14 April 2021. The file note referred to an email from
                   the affected member of the Evaluation Panel dated 9 April 2021, which | was provided
                   with a copy of. The file note reflected the advice | provided on 8 April 2021, and the
                   affected Evaluation Panellist’s email dated 9 April 2021 did not change that advice. |
                   confirmed that to be the case by email to Ms Mooney on 14 April 2021.
            (f)    | was copied to an email from Ms Mooney to the affected Evaluation Panel member
                   (also copied to Mr Wallace and Scott Ison) confirming the way in which the possible
                   perceived conflict of interest would be handled and confirming that Evaluation Panel
                   member’s access to the evaluation documentation.   Ms Mooney’s email was
                   consistent with my advice of 8 April 2021.

    7.      On 28 April 2021, | attended, via Microsoft Teams, the Tender Evaluation Meeting of the
            Evaluation Panel in which the Evaluation Panel moderated their entries in Evaluation
            Workbooks. | attended that part of the Tender Evaluation Meeting that considered the
            permits for which more than one tender response was received. By prior arrangement (an
            email exchange between Mr Wallace and me on 8 April 2021), it was agreed that | would not
           need to attend the meeting to the extent the meeting considered those permits for which
            there was only one applicant.

    Noosa Shire Council — Probity Advisor's Report — Contract No T000037                     2
    0080002_20210575_003.docx

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