TOP END businesses are furious about Darwin Council’s decision to award the contract for a $1.1 million playground to an interstate company.
Despite receiving tenders to build the Esplanade’s new Bicentennial Park from multiple local companies, the council opted for Queensland head office based Urban Play.
Following the decision, local company NT Sports and Playground Surfacing published their design online, and expressed disappointment a Territory company was not chosen.
“Even if we hadn’t received the contract, it would have been nice to see it go to supporting an NT business,” director Bob Fleming said.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW“We don’t win every tender and we’re not stupid enough to expect to.
“But at the end of the day, Darwin Council should be supporting local companies.”
Mr Fleming said while a “limited” public consultation was undertaken before the Expressions of Interest were due, the final design options were not shown to the public.
“Let the public decide. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
“They wanted us to design something that was iconic and that’s what we did with our crocodile design.”
On Facebook, the company’s design has been shared more than 120 times, liked almost 900 times and has more than 180 comments, most saying a local company should have been chosen.
“NT contractors understand the Territory weather and quote accordingly,” Denise Thomas commented.
“I hope they have a clause in the contract that states if our usual weather conditions in the wet season effect (sic) the quality of their work they wear the costs.
“Just remembering the newly built roads that had pot holes everywhere after a couple of our showers."
However Alderman Rebecca Want de Rowe backed the council’s decision.
“For NT Sports and Playground to come out and try to make council look bad because we didn’t pick them is just bad behaviour and makes me glad we didn’t go with them,” she commented. “Council end (sic) up going with the other design because we thought the slide was something new to Darwin and that was what we were after. As far as the crocodile design goes — yes it looks great but from the ground you wouldn’t be able to tell what it was.”
Darwin Council senior communications and engagement officer Josie Matthiesson said the contract for the playground was awarded after “extensive consultation”.