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Audit

Report on long-term council community plan

REPORT TO THE READERS OF GREATER WELLINGTON REGIONAL COUNCIL'S LONG-TERM COUNCIL COMMUNITY PLAN FOR THE TEN YEARS COMMENCING 1 JULY 2006

The Auditor-General is the auditor of Greater Wellington Regional Council (the Regional Council). The Auditor-General has appointed me, Rudie Tomlinson, using the staff and resources of Audit New Zealand, to report on the Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP), on his behalf.

The purpose of an LTCCP, as set out in section 93(6) of the Local Government Act 2002 (the Act), is to:

describe the activities of the local authority;

describe the community outcomes of the local authority?s district or region;

provide integrated decision making and co-ordination of the resources of the local authority;

provide a long term focus for the decisions and activities of the local authority;

provide a basis for accountability of the local authority to the community; and

provide an opportunity for participation by the public in decision making processes on activities to be undertaken by the local authority.

Opinion

Overall Opinion

In our opinion the LTCCP of the Regional Council, incorporating the volumes ?A Sustainable Region ? Detailed Information? and ?A Sustainable Region ? Policies Document? dated 29 June 2006, provides a reasonable basis for long term integrated decision-making by the Regional Council and for participation in decision-making by the public and subsequent accountability to the community about the activities of the Regional Council.

It is not our responsibility to express an opinion on the merits of any policy content within the LTCCP.

In forming our overall opinion, we considered our opinion on specific matters required by the Act, which is set out below.

Opinion on Specific Matters Required by the Act

The Auditor-General is required by section 94(1) of the Act to report on:

the extent to which the LTCCP complies with the requirements of the Act;

the quality of information and assumptions underlying the forecast information provided in the LTCCP; and

? the extent to which the forecast information and performance measures will provide an appropriate framework for the meaningful assessment of the actual levels of service provision.

In terms of our obligation to report on the matters outlined in section 94(1) of the Act, in our opinion:

the Regional Council has complied with the requirements of the Act in all material respects demonstrating aspects of good practice for a Council of its size and scale within the context of its environment;

the underlying information used to prepare the LTCCP provides a reasonable basis for the preparation of the forecast information;

the assumptions set out within the LTCCP are based on best information currently available to the Regional Council and provide a reasonable and supportable basis for the preparation of the forecast information;

the forecast information has been properly prepared on the basis of the underlying information and the assumptions adopted and the financial information is presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand;

? the extent to which the forecast information and performance measures provide an appropriate framework for the meaningful assessment of the actual levels of service provision reflects good practice for a Council of its size and scale within the context of its environment.

Actual results are likely to be different from the forecast information since anticipated events frequently do not occur as expected and the variation may be material. Accordingly, we express no opinion as to whether the forecasts will be achieved.

Our report was completed on 29 June 2006, and is the date at which our opinion is expressed.

The basis of the opinion is explained below. In addition, we outline the responsibilities of the Regional Council and the Auditor, and explain our independence.

Basis of Opinion

We carried out the audit in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (revised): Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information and the Auditor-General?s Auditing Standards, which incorporate the New Zealand Auditing Standards. We have examined the forecast financial information in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3400: The Examination of Prospective Financial Information.

We planned and performed our audit to obtain all the information and explanations we considered necessary to obtain reasonable assurance that the LTCCP does not contain material misstatements, and provides a reasonable basis for long term integrated decision-making by the public and the Regional Council about the activities of the Regional Council, and for subsequent accountability to the community about the activities of the Regional Council.

Our procedures included examining on a test basis, evidence supporting assumptions, amounts and other disclosures in the LTCCP, determining compliance with the requirements of the Act, and evaluating the overall adequacy of the presentation of information.

We obtained all the information and explanations we required to support the opinion above.

Responsibilities of the Council and the Auditor

The Regional Council is responsible for preparing a LTCCP under the Act, by applying the Regional Council?s assumptions and presenting the financial information in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand. The Regional Council?s responsibilities arise from Section 93 of the Act.

We are responsible for expressing an independent opinion on the LTCCP and reporting that opinion to you. This responsibility arises from section 15 of the Public Audit Act 2001 and section 94(1) of the Act.

Independence

When reporting on the LTCCP we followed the independence requirements of the Auditor-General, which incorporate the independence requirements of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand.

During the year we performed assurance reviews of Council?s rail tender processes. Other than these assignments, this report and in conducting the annual audit, we have no relationship with or interests in the Regional Council.

R L Tomlinson
Audit New Zealand
On behalf of the Auditor-General
Wellington, New Zealand

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