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Western Australia’s Auditor-General found that purchasing-card controls across six metropolitan local governments were only partly effective, but did not find clear evidence that public money had been misused. Colin Cameron, then City of Subiaco CEO, called the audit’s public presentation “headline-grabbing,” arguing that selected examples lacked context and obscured that conclusion. The two claims address different questions: the audit documented control and transparency weaknesses; Cameron disputed how the findings were presented.
What the Auditor-General’s audit examined
The Office of the Auditor General Western Australia published Report 17, Local Government Management of Purchasing Cards – Larger Metropolitan Entities, on 28 May 2025. It reviewed the City of Cockburn, City of Fremantle, City of Melville, City of Perth, City of Subiaco and Town of Victoria Park. The audit period was 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024. It assessed the issue, use and cancellation of purchasing cards against legislation, departmental guidance and the OAG’s better-practice guidance. OAG Report 17
Purchasing cards, including corporate credit cards and store cards, can simplify low-value buying. The OAG said weak controls can also expose public money to misuse or loss. Across the six entities, it counted 365 purchasing cards and around $4.5 million in purchases during the 12-month period. More than 95% of purchases had receipts or other supporting documentation, and most transactions were below $500; those are combined audit findings, not Subiaco-only figures. OAG Report 17
What the audit found at Subiaco
The OAG rated purchasing-card controls across the audited entities as “partly effective.” It found that none had clearly defined what counted as allowable and reasonable business expenditure. The report also identified broader weaknesses in card issuance and cancellation, card registers, delegations, council reporting and management oversight. These sector-wide findings should not all be read as Subiaco-specific observations.
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For Subiaco, the report identified three particular control and transparency gaps:
- Store-card purchase reports did not include the payee name, date and enough detail to identify each payment.
- The City had no procedures for issuing and cancelling store cards.
- Some purchasing cards had been issued to staff who were not recorded in the delegations register as holding the required purchasing authority.
These findings concern documentation, authorization and process. They are not, by themselves, proof that a purchase was improper or that public money was misused. The OAG report’s overview said it had not found clear evidence of public-money misuse. OAG Report 17
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What Cameron meant by “headline-grabbing”
In a response reported by PerthNow on 22 August 2025, Cameron said the audit had been professionally conducted but criticized its public release and the way examples were highlighted. He wrote: “It seems there has been a ‘headline-grabbing’ approach which diminishes public trust and the crucial conclusion — that there was no finding of misuse of public funds — has been obscured.” PerthNow’s report
“Headline-grabbing” is Cameron’s characterization of the presentation, not an Auditor-General finding or an independently established description of the OAG’s motives. He argued that spending examples were selected subjectively and without sufficient context. He said catering at meetings, briefings, workshops and other events was normal professional practice, and questioned the focus on bulk alcohol purchases when, in his view, a glass of wine after a late meeting could also be reasonable and buying in bulk could offer better value. Those are Cameron’s arguments about context and proportionality, not findings verified by the audit.
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How to read the spending figures and card counts
PerthNow reported Subiaco was among the lowest spenders in the audit period, with $199,882 in purchasing-card spending, and described the City’s response as citing two credit cards and “strong controls.” Those are reported figures and claims from the City’s position, not an OAG conclusion that Subiaco’s controls were strong. The OAG’s report table lists 11 total purchasing cards for Subiaco: three credit cards and eight store cards. Cameron’s reference to two was specifically to credit cards, not all purchasing cards. PerthNow’s report OAG Report 17
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the dispute does—and does not—establish
The audit’s control assessment and Cameron’s criticism are not mutually exclusive. A local government can have weak documentation, unclear rules or authorization gaps without the audit establishing misuse. Conversely, the absence of a misuse finding does not resolve whether individual purchases met community expectations or whether internal controls were adequate. The report records the OAG’s findings; PerthNow records Cameron’s objection to how those findings and examples were presented. Neither source establishes that the OAG accepted the City’s criticism, withdrew findings or that all corrective action was completed.
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- Author: by Ioannis Anastassakis, MA
- Format: Book
- SkillLevel: Beginning-Intermediate
- NumberofPages: 80
- PublicationDate: 10_24_2002
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