2026-06-19
The ACT Greens say the Government has integrity questions to answer, after an Auditor General report confirmed that they made claims about the adequacy of a 25 metre pool based on analysis which actually did not exist.
“The Government failed to listen when the community told them they wanted a 50 metre pool in Phillip, and now we know they pushed ahead on false pretenses”, said Laura Nuttall MLA, ACT Greens Spokesperson for Sport.
While in 2023 the ACT Government claimed that a sports and recreational needs analysis had found that a 25 metre pool would adequately serve the community, an Auditor General Report has today revealed that this ‘misrepresented the nature and extent of analysis’ that occurred.
“Astoundingly, there was no needs analysis, despite the directorate’s own Minister agreeing that one was needed and then later statements that one had been completed.
According to this Report, directorate officials apparently just agreed that the analysis wasn’t needed despite explicit agreement from the responsible Ministers that it was. No one ever took charge of making that needs analysis happen– they all just let it go through to the keeper.
“Public pools are vital community spaces. The community has been telling the government this for years and the government’s response was to misrepresent their calls.
“Now, the community can see that they were lied to about why they would only be offered a half-sized replacement by this Labor Government.
“While we’re pleased that the Government is now developing an Aquatic Strategy for the territory to more honestly reflect the needs of the community, this only came after sustained pressure from the community, which the Greens have kept pushing", said Miss Nuttall.
ACT Greens Leader and Planning Spokesperson Jo Clay MLA said this was part of a pattern of planning decisions by the government which failed to put the community first.
“This government has prioritised the bottom line of developers over what’s best for the community”, said Ms Clay.
“While the community was telling the government what they needed from this pool, the Government didn’t listen. Government and officials did not do the work to see what the community needed.
“The Government needs to answer why that analysis was misrepresented and why Government failed to listen to the locals who love Phillip Pool”, said Ms Clay.