07 May 2025
LGOIMA 25-045 Miss W. Forest
[FYI request #30323 email]
Tēnā koe Miss W. Forest
Request for information: Fulton Hogan
I refer to request for information received on 7 March 2025 for information regarding Fulton
Hogan as the preferred contractor for Wellington Water Limited.
Your request is responded to in the appendix on the following page and is responded to in
accordance with the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA – the Act)
1987. I apologise for the time it has taken to respond to you.
Information has been withheld under sections 7(2)(b)(ii) and 7(2)(i) of the Act, as described in the
appendix. In accordance with section 7(1) of the Act, we do not consider the withholding of
information under the respective section(s) 7 of the Act is outweighed by other considerations
which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make that information available.
Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official information
requests where possible. Our response to your request will be published shortly at
https://www.wellingtonwater.co.nz/about-us/official-requests/official-information-act-
responses/ with your personal information removed.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to email us at
[Wellington Water Limited request email]
Nāku noa, nā
Wayne Maxwell
Chief Corporate Services Officer
APPENDIX
a) analysis / independent advice received or what was evaluated upon selecting Fulton Hogan as
the preferred contractor for Wellington Water.
The tender process that identified Fulton Hogan as the preferred contractor comprised three
elements:
1. An Open-market Registration of Interest (ROI), which produced a shortlisted of three
companies to progress to…
2. Competitive Dialogue, which was then used to inform a
3. The Request for Proposals (RFP) process to select the preferred contractor.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) criteria were:
1. Governance and Management
2. Service Delivery
3. Service Planning
4. Customer Experience
5. Resilience
6. Health & Safety
7. Technology
8. Implementation and Change
9. Commercial
10. Alliance Behaviours
I also refer you to the provided documents:
•
LGOIMA 25-045 Alliance RFP 2018 response form
•
LGOIMA 25-045 Alliance RFP 2018
External advice through this process included an independent evaluation chair and another
independent evaluator as well as WWL staff who evaluated all the RFP responses. Probity and legal
advice was also provided to the process by independent parties.
b) The competing bids as to Fulton Hogan as the main contractor for Wellington Water.
RFP responses were received from Fulton Hogan, CityCare and Downer.
c) The charged alleged "fair and reasonable" contracting rates Fulton Hogan has been contracted
with Wellington Water for, as mentioned in the media by Fulton Hogan without supporting
documents from either Wellington Water or Fulton Hogan:
--- clip news report ---
Dougherty noted the board did not have any say or involvement in the day-to-day contract
administration.
A Fulton Hogan spokeswoman said the company stood by its contracting work for Wellington
Water.
She said a summary of the report’s findings showed Fulton Hogan has charged rates which are
“fair and reasonable”.
“AECOM noted that if anything, they appeared somewhat low.”
--- clip news report ---
It is noted that you have quoted a newspaper clip, which quotes a Fulton Hogan spokesperson
paraphrasing an AECOM comment. Please be advised that the direct quote from the AECOM report
is:
“We believe that the Alliance labour and plant rates are fair and reasonable compared to the
competitive industry charges, and, if anything, appear to be somewhat low”
While we have withheld this specific information as commercially sensitive (see sections indicated
below), you may find the full AECOM report with redactions here:
AECOM Full Redacted Report -
Analysis of WWL Panel Costs and Valuation Unit Rates
This report contains relevant information on these rates and AECOM's determination of them as
'fair and reasonable'.
This part of your request is withheld under the following sections:
• 7(2)(b)(ii) protect information where the making available of the information would be
likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or
who is the subject of the information, and
• 7(2)(i) enable any local authority holding the information to carry on, without prejudice
or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations).
d) Confirm what type of tender or competitive process Fulton Hogan underwent with these
charged contracting rates and whether the tender has been re-competed annually or other time
period to make these competitive.
Fulton Hogan won the open tender and were contracted for a ten-year term as our
maintenance provider. Contracts such as these are not retendered on an annual basis. As
noted above, the rates are considered somewhat low.
