A South Australian council has been found guilty of maladministration but a former Labor state government minister has been cleared after an investigation into a $198 million power deal.
SA Ombudsman Wayne Lines on Monday identified more than 25 significant errors by the Coober Pedy Council in the negotiation and execution of an agreement to buy power from a private supplier, Energy Generation Ltd.
But Mr Lines said former Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis had not committed maladministration by committing the state government to subsidise the payments made by the council under the power deal.
Mr Lines said the council had failed to heed legal advice concerning the deal and had failed to give meaningful consideration to the terms and consequences of the agreement.
"In my view, the practices of the council resulted in the substantial mismanagement of public resources because they caused the council to commit to expend in excess of $100 million in circumstances where the council did not observe established procurement and prudential processes and did not satisfactorily demonstrate that the transaction presented value for money," the ombudsman said in his findings.
"This remains one of the most serious examples of maladministration in public administration I have observed."
Mr Lines also urged each of the council members to "consider their position".
The council has indicated it does not accept the views of Mr Lines and believes responsibility for the deal rests with the SA government.
While he cleared Mr Koutsantonis of maladministration, Mr Lines said the former minister omitted to ask the Department of State Development how it was satisfied that the costs associated with the agreement were fair and reasonable compared to other alternatives.
"This question was not specifically addressed in the briefings and it was an important consideration that should have informed Mr Koutsantonis' decision to execute the documents," the ombudsman said.
The power deal involved upgrading Coober Pedy's existing diesel power generation to include renewables and battery storage.
