Mid West Ports Authority cleared of serious misconduct allegations following investigation of security tender

The Corruption and Crime Commission has cleared Mid West Ports Authority after it investigated allegations of serious misconduct in awarding a tender for port security to a company owned by the city’s former mayor. In late 2020, after the tender for the security services at the Port of Geraldton had expired, a new one was advertised, including an increase to two security guards 24 hours per day. Two companies, MCS Security and the incumbent Forefront Security — owned by then-City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn — were the frontrunners for the tender. In a report published on Wednesday, the CCC states although MCS Security performed higher during the qualitative evaluation, Forefront Security was selected for the job and maintained the contract it had held since 2012. However, three things going against the standard process were flagged by the watchdog, leading to an investigation. According to the document, one issue was that the acting chief executive executed the $2,848,752 contract on behalf of MWPA despite it being over the $1 million delegation outlined in the organisation’s corporate delegations manual. The CCC found members of the authority believed it was possible because the amount was less than $1 million for the three-year term of the contract. Another issue arose through the PowerPoint presentation prepared for the evaluation panel. It showed MCS Security as the highest-scoring applicant but included a $50,000 “switching costs” fee, which, according to the commission, was “arbitrarily added,” making the quote more expensive. The presentation also showed some considerations for MCS Security, which the CCC perceived as “reasons not to switch from the incumbent.” These included costs associated with changing companies, loss of current knowledge base, and reputational damage relating to MCS not being seen as a local supplier. This was despite the organisation’s having an office in Geraldton at the time and key staff members living in the area. Under reputational damage in the presentation to the executive panel was a dot point listed as “pub test”. An MWPA employee told the CCC, “It was more around people’s perception of bringing in a new supplier that, in their opinion, wasn’t local, and would that actually pass the pub test.” MWPA was also accused of failing to record key decisions clearly, including accepting a pricing schedule from Forefront after the tender closed, communication between Forefront Security and the Port Authority before and after the tender closing time, and why the contract was awarded to the incumbent company despite MCS Security scoring higher based on the available criteria. The CCC stated that MWPA has since amended its procedures and documents so that employees may more easily adhere to processes going forward. The completion of the investigation led the CCC to find that it “did not make a finding of serious misconduct against any MWPA employee.” Meanwhile, it also found “no evidence of impropriety by Forefront or Mr Van Styn”. Mr Van Styn, who was defeated in the mayoral election in October last year, was contacted for comment but said, “As one of the contractors that was spoken to during the investigation, we feel it would be inappropriate to speak on the matter.” In a statement, MWPA chief executive Damian Tully said the organisation acknowledged the outcome of the report, and has made moves to improve its processes. “Mid West Ports recognises its responsibility to the community to be accountable and transparent in all our operations and commercial transactions,” he said. “We assure our community that we have already improved our processes which have closed risks identified by the CCC, including updating our corporate delegations manual to provide greater clarity in relation to delegations and recording of all pertinent information and decisions during a tender process.”