LISMORE City Council has been recognised for its large scale and high-pressure efforts in disaster recovery, while hosting the state-wide Local Government Procurement Networking Meeting.<\/p>\n
The devastating floods in 2022 are widely regarded as one of the most complex disasters managed by a regional council in Australia.<\/p>\n
The meeting at Lismore Heights Bowling Club featured a presentation by the council’s flood restoration portfolio team, which stated there are more than 540 projects underway and hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure delivery.<\/p>\n
“In the 2023-24 financial year, Lismore City Council managed $239 million in procurement,” Lismore City general manager Jon Gibbons said.<\/p>\n
“Of that, 36 per cent was spent with local businesses in the Lismore LGA, and 12 per cent with suppliers across the Northern Rivers region.<\/p>\n
“Nearly 50 per cent of the Council’s procurement, around $113.7 million, stayed within the region.”<\/p>\n
The council has used local contractors and grouped specific projects into bundles to suit the skills and what is available locally.<\/p>\n
It built its flood restoration portfolio team from the ground up, totalling 82 dedicated projects.<\/p>\n
It also used existing systems, including a vendor panel, which allows the council to manage contracts efficiently and transparently.<\/p>\n
Staff across the delivery team were trained in contract law, probity and public works delivery.<\/p>\n
Other speakers at the event included NSW anti-slavery commissioner Dr James Cockayne and senior representatives from across government and industry.<\/p>\n
It was hosted by Origin Energy and included information on legislative compliance, supplier engagement, sustainability and risk management.<\/p>\n
Lismore City acting manager of procurement Mark Parry said the event was an opportunity to demonstrate the scale and quality of work delivered.<\/p>\n
“We have a unique situation where we need to keep council’s business-as-usual function running smoothly in parallel with the flood recovery portfolio’s significant procurement requirements,” he said.<\/p>\n
“To that end, our respective teams have developed practical, scalable systems that are coordinated and achieving results in a high-pressure environment.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LISMORE City Council has been recognised for its large scale and high-pressure efforts in disaster recovery, while hosting the state-wide Local Government Procurement Networking Meeting. The devastating floods in 2022 are widely regarded as one of the most complex disasters managed by a regional council in Australia. The meeting at Lismore Heights Bowling Club featured […]<\/p>\n