The Local Government News Roundup is back with regular updates from councils around the country.
In this episode, we catch up on recent sector developments, including a Commission of Inquiry appointed at Moira Shire Council; CEO comings and goings from around the country; and the latest mayoral election results from Victoria.
Listen to this episode here, and find the link for your podcast player here for any of the 168 episodes so far.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Links for stories referenced in the podcast can be found in the transcript, or by visiting the Roundup website.
Transcript (with links):
Episode 168 LG News Roundup, 2nd November 2022
Hello and welcome to the Local Government News Roundup. This is your update for the 2nd November. I’m Chris Eddy, and it’s good to be back after a break from regular episodes during October.
Today, we catch up on recent sector developments, including a Commission of Inquiry appointed for a Victorian council; CEO comings and goings from around the country; and the latest mayoral election results from Victoria.
Just some of what’s ahead on the Local Government News Roundup, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
A Commission of Inquiry has been appointed to look into the affairs of Moira Shire Council.
The appointment was made last Friday by Local Government Minister, Melissa Horne, at which time the appointment of Municipal Monitor Marg Allan concluded.
The terms of reference for the commission includes the examination of confidential advice provided by the Municipal Monitor and a confidential letter from the Australian Services Union.
The commission will also look at matters affecting Councillor and administration performance, and the effectiveness of governance arrangements.
Further information, including the composition of the Commission of Inquiry, will be provided in due course.
The Commission of Inquiry is required to report to the minister for local government by 28th February next year.
The last time a Commission of Inquiry was appointed in Victoria was in May 2019, ultimately leading to the dismissal of South Gippsland Shire Council in June 2019.
Meanwhile, the term of the Municipal Monitor at Yarra City Council, Yehudi Blacher, has recently concluded, with the release of his final report in late September.
Mr Blacher’s term was earlier extended by three months to the end of September, and his report noted actions being taken by new CEO Sue Wilkinson to improve processes, and the approval of key governance policy documents.
Mr Blacher made a recommendation to the Minister to request an annual performance review by the Auditor-General looking at the Council’s progress towards financial sustainability.
At the City of Melbourne, the deputy CEO Alison Leighton was last week formally appointed to the position of Acting CEO, following the resignation on 18th October of CEO Justin Hanney.
Mr Hanney’s resignation followed a review by the Council’s CEO Employment Matters Committee of the receipt by Mr Hanney of anonymous donations to support the costs of competing in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Last week, the Council advised that it had considered a confidential report from the committee, finding that the donations should have been declared as part of the personal interests return process, but found no evidence to indicate Mr Hanney had intentionally or recklessly lodged returns that were false or incomplete.
It has called for strengthened guidelines for CEO personal interest returns, and referred the non-declaration of gifts to the Chief Municipal Inspector.
The Council has also commenced a review of governance rules relating to gifts and declarations by employees.
There are more CEO level developments to report from recent weeks.
The City of Greater Dandenong last month announced the appointment of Jacqui Weatherill to the role of Chief Executive Officer.
Ms Weatherill will make the move from Stonnington City Council, where she has held the CEO role since June 2019.
She will commence at Greater Dandenong on 19th December, after the retirement of John Bennie at the end of November after 16 years in the role; and 47 years in local government.
At Central Goldfields Shire, the Council has unanimously reappointed Lucy Roffey as its CEO on a new five year contract.
The new deal will take effect from March next year. Ms Roffey commenced in the position in March 2018.
And Baw Baw Shire Council CEO Mark Dupe has received a contract extension, which will see him hold the CEO position through until May 2025. Mr Dupe has held the role since March 2020.
Mayoral Election season has begun in Victoria, with most Councils due to elect a Mayor and Deputy Mayor over the coming weeks.
The first results are in, with East Gippsland leading the way – the Council has re-elected Mark Reeves as Mayor for a second consecutive term, and a third overall.
The Council was however unable to elect a Deputy Mayor as no absolute majority was achieved when two councillors contested the position.
A further election to resolve the Deputy Mayoralty will be held on the 8th November.
At Glenelg Shire Council, there has been a leadership change with Cr Scott Martin taking over as Mayor following an election last week. Cr Martin succeeds Anita Rank, who held the mayoralty for a record of 6 consecutive years.
There is also a new Deputy Mayor, with Cr Jayden Smith elected to the position succeeding Cr Karen Stephens.
Moonee Valley City Council has elected Cr Pierce Tyson as its new Mayor. Cr Tyson is a first term councillor, and takes over from outgoing mayor Samantha Byrne, who was elected as Deputy Mayor for the coming 12 months.
At Greater Bendigo, the Council has announced that Andrea Metcalf will serve a second consecutive term as Mayor; and Cr Jennifer Alden will serve as a deputy mayor, a position she last held in 2018.
Both positions will be confirmed at a special Council meeting to be held next Tuesday, 8th November.
Southern Grampians Shire elected its mayor and deputy mayor last week. Last year’s deputy, David Robertson, was elected unopposed to the mayoralty; and Cr Helen Henry was elected as Deputy Mayor.
And in Greater Shepparton, Cr Shane Sali has been re-elected as mayor for a two year term, extending his time in the role after being elected in June this year when former mayor Kim O’Keeffe resigned the position.
There were two nominations for deputy mayor, and an absolute majority could not be achieved. The second attempt to elect a deputy mayor of Greater Shepparton will be held on a date yet to be advised.
More mayoral elections will be held this week, including at West Wimmera, Wellington, Hume, Melton and Manningham. Keep an eye on the Local Government News Roundup website for updates as they become known.
In other brief news, there is a new Councillor at Buloke Shire following a by-election which was delayed due to the flood emergency.
Bernadette Hogan has been elected as the new representative of Mallee Ward, replacing David Vis who stepped down earlier this year.
Ms Hogan previously served on the Council between 2005 and 2008.
An interim Commissioner has been appointed at IBAC, with the pending completion of Commissioner Robert Redlich’s term of office.
Deputy Commissioner Stephen Farrow has been appointed for six months, with a recruitment process for a permanent commissioner to commence following the Victorian State Election.
Brimbank City Council has welcomed the release of a masterplan which will see $143M invested in first stage works at the Sunshine Station Precinct.
The works will be part of the Melbourne Airport Rail Project. The Council estimates around $500M will be required to fund the master plan in full.
The National Roundup is next, but first a reminder about the upcoming VLGA/LGIU live global panel on the topic of COP 26 – one year on.
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference in November last year resulted in the Glasgow Climate Pact, with 197 parties committing to measures including the reduction of the use of coal, and more urgent greenhouse gas emissions cuts.
Next week’s global panel brings together leaders from Ireland, England and Australia to discuss actions taken and progress made over the past 12 months.
You’ll hear from the former CEO of Ireland’s Sligo County Council, Ciaran Hayes; CEO of England’s Lakeland District Council, Lawrence Conway; Dr Rosemary Dillon, CEO of Blue Mountains City Council in NSW; and Darcy Pimblett from Austarlia’s Cities Power Partnership.
You can be part of this exclusive panel presentation and discussion which is happening at 6.30pm on Thursday 10th November via Zoom.
Register now on the event page of the VLGA website – link in the show notes.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association – the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Now in today’s National Roundup, some recent developments of note to catch up on:
The Australian Local Government Association has hailed last week’s Federal Budget as a win, with hundreds of millions of dollars expected to flow to the sector.
President Linda Scott last week highlighted the organisation’s advocacy success resulting in a $250M extension of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, and a new $200M Disaster Ready Fund.
There is also an extra $100M in Financial Assistance Grants, topping that program out at $2.92 B this financial year.
Cr Scott said local governments will also be eligible to access $1B in new regional grant funding programs.
In related news, the association held its general meeting in Hobart this week, and re-elected Linda Scott to the position of President.
Karen Chappel from Western Australia, and Matt Burnett from Gladstone were elected as Vice Presidents of ALGA.
Queensland’s Scenic Rim Regional Council has appointed its new Chief Executive Officer.
David Keenan was the successful candidate, and is moving from Mount Isa City Council to take up the position in late November.
Mr Keenan has previously held CEO roles at Southern Downs in Queensland, Tweed Shire in NSW, and Mitchell Shire in Victoria.
At Mount Isa, the council has appointed former Gold Coast CEO Dale Dickson as interim CEO for a period of three months, with a possible extension of a further three months, while a recruitment process is conducted to replace Mr Keenan.
Mr Dickson was CEO at Gold Coast for 18 years, and CEO of Whitsunday Regional Council prior to that. He takes up the role at Mount Isa later this week.
In related news at Scenic Rim this week, the Council’s current Acting CEO Caroline McMahon has issued a statement regarding the launch of a petition accusing the mayor and council bureaucrats of bullying one of its councillors.
Ms McMahon said the basis for the petition is inaccurate and misleading, and has provided context for the handling of complaints against a councillor, which includes independent investigation and an ultimate vote by the full Council.
The petition follows a decision by the Council to require Cr Derek Swanborough to reimburse part of the cost of investigations pertaining to his matters.
In the Northern Territory, West Arnhem Regional Council has appointed Paul Hockings as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Mr Hockings has been CEO of Queensland’s Barcoo Regional Council for three years, and previously worked as Director of Corporate Services at Longreach Council.
He commenced in the role this week, taking over from Daniel Findley who announced in May that he would not be seeking a contract extension.
Mr Findley has been announced as the incoming CEO of early childhood education and care provider Sparkways, effective next month.
Yet more senior executive news out of Western Australia this time, where Mandurah CEO Mark Newman has tendered his resignation, providing a little over 12 month’s notice.
The Mandurah Mail reports that Mr Newman’s resignation will take effect in October next year, and the Council is aiming to have a recruitment process completed by June.
Mr Newman was recently awarded a Local Government Distinguished Officer Award by the Western Australian Local Government Association.
In other brief news this week,
Cr Kevin Greene has resigned from Georges River Council this week, after five years of service. The former state mp and minister, was first elected to the council in 2017 and served as mayor in 2021. Countback arrangements to fill the vacancy will be advised in due course.
The City of Perth has a new Deputy Lord Mayor, following the decision of Di Bain to step down from the position last month.
Cr Liam Gobbert was elected last week as Deputy to the Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas. He is a former Joondalup councillor who was first elected to Perth council in 2020.
Cr Bain is remaining as a councillor.
The mayor of Alice Springs says he is considering closing the council’s public gallery temporarily after an incident at last week’s council meeting.
The ABC reports that the deputy mayor, Eli Melky, was accosted by a member of the public during the meeting, and Mayor Matt Paterson said options are being investigated to ensure the safety of elected members.
A councillor at WA’s City of Albany has been denied a leave request by her fellow councillors.
Analysis by the ABC shows that Cr Delma Baesjou has missed three meetings this year, and either arrived late or left early for five other meetings, for a variety of reasons including vehicle and technical issues, and long COVID health issues.
Her request for a week’s leave in December was rejected without discussion at last week’s council meeting.
South Australia’s Naracoorte Lucindale Council has been named a regional winner in the Minister for Health And Wellbung’s Excellence in Public Health Awards.
The award recognised the council’s delivery of over 20 inclusive and diverse programs to improve the public health in local communities.
Now to today’s International Spotlight, highlighting some stories of interest from beyond our borders..
Firstly to the UK, where local authority leaders are urging the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, not to take further austerity measures, with councils already struggling to deliver services.
Localgov.co.uk reports that the government is being advised to cut investment and implement more austerity, in order to tackle a £40B fiscal hole in the economy.
Sector leaders say the financial sustainability of councils is on a cliff-edge, and that adequate funding needs to be ensured to avoid further significant cuts to services that would impact the most vulnerable community members.
From Canada today comes news of a councillor at the city of Calgary who is stepping down from committees and boards over a racist video scandal.
CBC News says Cr Dan McLean has apologised after videos surfaced purporting to show him participating in racist mocking of indigenous people.
Cr McLean told a council meeting this week that he would give up his committee and board roles, and sit with a circle of elders to learn to grow, change and be better.
And in the US, a small town in Idaho is being sued by the Federal Government over the dumping of toxic waste from a sewage treatment plant into the river system.
According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit contends the practice has been ongoing for seven years. The town called Driggs could be looking at $160M US in fines.
The city’s attorney has described the lawsuit as a procedural step in the process of reaching a settlement agreement with the federal agency.
That’s the latest from the Local Government News Roundup. We’re back to our twice-weekly schedule of updates after a hiatus during the month of October.
I hope you enjoyed our special series of interviews on a variety of sector related topics, all of which are available on your podcast feed if you’ve not been able to catch up on them.
You can find more information at our website – lgnewsroundup.com – including our regularly updated list of Victorian mayoral election results and CEO appointment news.
The Local Government News Roundup returns with more on Sunday, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Until then, thanks for listening and bye for now.