On the podcast today, a long term Council CEO is on the move; a former councillor returns to Moira Shire Council; Port Phillip calls for an end to pop-up bike lane trials; a review of the councillor misconduct framework released in NSW; Sunshine Coast’s new $98M city hall opens for business; and LA’s new mayor declares a homelessness crisis on her first day in office.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Listen to this episode here, and find the link for your podcast player here for any of the 182 episodes so far. Scroll down for the transcript for episode 182 with story links.
Transcript (with story links):
Hello and welcome to the Local Government News Roundup. This is your update for the 14th December. I’m Chris Eddy.
On the podcast today, a long term Council CEO is on the move; a former councillor returns to Moira Shire Council; Port Phillip calls for an end to pop-up bike lane trials; a review of the councillor misconduct framework released in NSW; Sunshine Coast’s new $98M city hall opens for business; and LA’s new mayor declares a homelessness crisis on her first day in office.
That’s all ahead on the Local Government News Roundup, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
First up today,
A long term Council CEO is on the move, with the announcement yesterday that Corangamite CEO Andrew Mason has been selected for the top job at Warrnambool City Council.
Mr Mason was appointed to the CEO role at Corangamite more than 12 years ago, after joining the organisation in a director position in 2008.
His last day at Corangamite will be the 27th January, and recruitment and interim arrangements are pending.
The decision to appoint Mr Mason at Warrnambool was made in a confidential session of an additional Council meeting at 4pm yesterday, bringing to an end a long running saga that commenced with the termination of current CEO Peter Schneider’s contract in July 2020.
Mr Schneider was successful in having the decision overturned by the Supreme Court and returned to the job almost 12 months later.
In September this year, the Council opted to conduct an open recruitment process ahead of Mr Schneider’s contract expiring in early 2023.
Mr Mason takes up the position at Warrnambool on the 20th February.
A second countback in a week at Moira Shire Council has resulted in the return of a former councillor and deputy mayor to the Council.
Yarrawonga resident Wendy Buck was successful from a pool of four remaining eligible candidates from the 2020 election in the 5th countback of the current term for the council. She replaces former mayor Libro Mustica who resigned last month.
Ms Buck served on the council for 10 years from 2010 before failing to retain her position in 2020.
She returns during a tumultuous time for the council, with two recent resignations; a current Commission of Inquiry investigating various governance and administration matters; and according to the Border Mail newspaper, a pending petition for Yarrawonga to become a municipality independently of Moira.
(Border Mail, 13-12-22)
Two countbacks have now been scheduled in the wake of the recent state election, with the VEC to conduct procedures for Greater Shepparton and Swan Hill Rural Council on the same day in January.
The Swan Hill countback to replace departing councillor Jade Benham will occur at 11am on the 16th January, one hour after a countback for the vacancy at Greater Shepparton.
Details are yet to be announced for Yarra and Mornington Peninsula where sitting councillors have been elected to State Parliament; and later today confirmation is expected that a further four councillors will be elected to the upper house, triggering countbacks or by-elections at Colac Otway, Melton, Brimbank and Port Phillip councils.
A rescission motion to overturn a decision by Merri-bek Council to stop citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day has been withdrawn prior to the meeting called to consider it.
A council spokeswoman told the Age that the motion lapsed after no other councillor was prepared to support it; and the council will now apply to the Federal Minister for an exemption from the requirement to hold ceremonies on the 26th January.
Here are the Victorian briefs:
Port Phillip City Council is seeking an immediate end to pop-up bike lane trials in the city, after receiving an independent expert review into the adverse impacts of the bike lane treatments.
The council has acknowledged resident concerns about the safety of the temporary infrastructure, and has called for thorough consultation prior to any new infrastructure being introduced.
Darebin City Council has adopted a new partnership strategy that will lead to the renaming of select public spaces in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other local multicultural communities.
Il Globo reports that the renaming of municipal libraries and Batman Park is on the agenda, along with a proposal to name a show court at the new Narrandjeri Stadium after Wurundjeri woman and 1956 Olympic athlete, Patricia Ockwell.
And the City of Ballarat is working to conserve four endangered indigenous plant species, along with a collection of 30 rare and threatened indigenous species.
The Council’s horticultural staff members are monitoring the wild plants, harvesting seeds for the Royal Botanic Garden seed bank, and propagating the plants via cuttings.
The work has successfully created backup populations for each of the plant species to safeguard them for the future.
Coming Up: a review of the councillor misconduct framework released in NSW; a former Council manager loses a court appeal; Sunshine Coast’s new $98M city hall opens for business; and LA’s new mayor declares a homelessness crisis on her first day in office.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Join the VLGA for an update from our Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project Partners on Women in Local Government research project.
This project aims to investigate the chronic under representation of women in Australian politics through a local government lens. It expects to generate new knowledge about barriers to female political representation, their political performance and pathways to higher tiers of elected office
The panel will include Professor Dr Andrea Carson, La Trobe University,
Professor Leah Ruppanner, University of Melbourne, and Kathryn Arndt, CEO, VLGA.
This online event is at 12 noon on Thursday 15th December. You can find out more on the VLGA website – link in the show notes.
Now in today’s National Roundup:
The Mayor of Western Downs Regional Council has expressed deep condolences to family, friends and colleagues of those affected by the tragic events in Wieambilla this week.
Mayor Paul McVeigh said the small, tight-knit community and the broader region is absolutely reeling from the unthinkable loss of two young police officers and a member of the community during the terrible incident.
In a media statement, the Council said we stand by our local Queensland Police Service community through this difficult and troubling time, and we are thankful for their courage, service and efforts to keep the community peaceful and safe.
A review of the councillor misconduct framework in NSW has been completed, resulting in 49 recommendations to the local government minister.
Gary Kellar PSM, a former local time Queensland general manager, was appointed to undertake the independent review, with the aim of identifying areas for improvement.
Mr Kellar has recommended a new framework for dealing with councillor misconduct, with complaints to be managed by regionally based independent panels, under the oversight of an independent Councillor Conduct Commissioner.
Other recommendations include training requirements for candidates and councillors; the ability for prosecution of councillors who breach their oath of office; and new powers and a positive duty on mayors to deal with disorder at meetings.
The government is now seeking views from the public and the local government sector on the findings and recommendations contained in Mr Kellar’s report.
Peak body Local Government NSW has welcomed the release of the review, with President Darriea Turley saying the sector supports any moves to ensure the highest standards of probity and integrity across all levels of government.
She said the recommendations outlined in the review will go a long way to rectifying the shortcomings when dealing with misconduct in local government.
A former manager from Gympie Regional Council in Queensland has lost an appeal against a Supreme Court ruling over circumstances that led to his suspension while misconduct allegations were investigated.
According to a Courier Mail report, Ronald Potter had claimed the council failed its duty of care, and that its handling of serious misconduct allegations caused severe depression and psychotic symptoms.
His appeal has been rejected this month, with the Justice finding that the council had discretion as to how it handled the allegations, and that the original finding of no breaches of duty of care was correct.
(Courier Mail, 13-12-22)
On the Sunshine Coast, a new city hall development has opened to the public with a celebration involving 1500 community members.
The $98 million, 10 storey project is in the heart of the new Maroochydore City Centre.
The architectural design for the building draws its inspiration from the Glass House Mountains and achieved 5-star Green Star Design and As Built accreditation.
While lower levels are now in use, fit out of upper levels will continue into next year, with the top floor to be available as an event space from mid-year.
In Tasmania, an options paper as part of the state’s Future of Local Government Review, is expected to be released this week – and there is speculation that council mergers will be a live option.
The Advocate reports today ($$) that council mergers and expansion of shared services between councils will be some of the options under consideration.
Local Government minister Nic Street said the government will closely consider all recommendations put forward in the paper by the Local Government Board.
A final report with recommendations is expected as part of a third stage of the process next year.
A ‘last resort’ auction of properties with unpaid rates has resulted in the recovery of nearly $300k for Kempsey Shire Council.
The Council put 20 properties up for auction, with 17 of those sold for amounts ranging from $130 – 420,000.
Three were passed in due to insufficient bids, and 7 properties were removed from the list after outstanding rates were paid.
Briefs:
The Mayor of WA’s City of Joondalup, Albert Jacob, has welcomed the announcement of $7M in funding towards the state’s first ocean pool
The state government investment brings the budget for the 50m olympic sized ocean pool to $10M.
It will form part of the Ocean Reef Marina precinct, which will include 1,000 residential dwellings.
Wagga Wagga City Council is celebrating a win in the LG NSW Excellence in the Environment awards.
Its One Tree For Me campaign has won the Communication, Education and Empowerment category. The campaign aims to see 65,000 native seedlings planted over six years, representing one tree for every resident.
And in Hobart, a new Aboriginal artwork has been unveiled outside the Town Hall in conjunction with the announcement that the city is an established member of the Welcoming Cities network.
The artwork, called I am County, is by Aboriginal Tasmanian artist Caleb Nichols-Mansell, and takes its inspiration from the water below the city that moves from kumanyi (Mt Wellington) down to timtumilli minunya (the Derwent River).
And now in the International Spotlight:
In England, the BBC has reported on the costs of creating a new unitary authority in North Yorkshire, replacing eight smaller local authorities next April.
Redundancy payments for senior executives will exceed £500k, while a rebranding process has been estimated to cost nearly £400k.
The current CEO of North Yorkshire County Council, Richard Flinton, has been announced as the head of the new North Yorkshire Council, with a workforce of 10,500 staff and a budget of £1.4B.
In Los Angeles, the city’s first woman mayor, Karen Bass, has been sworn into office and immediately declared homelessness as a state of emergency.
The Guardian reports that Mayor Bass sees the declaration as a ‘sea change in how the city tackles homelessness.’ She says she will move swiftly to help thousands of unhoused people off the city’s streets by bringing together government, the private sector and other stakeholders under a single strategy.
Mayor Bass, the first woman and second black person to hold the position, was sworn in ceremonially by US vice-president Kamala Harris; and then was feted in a surprise appearance and performance from music legend Stevie Wonder.
In Valencia, Spain, the city is expanding a successful initiative using street lights to recharge electric cars.
An initial 12 charging stations will be increased to more than 150 due to the demand. In addition, motion detection cameras are being added to the street lights to increase intensity as someone approaches.
Euronews.com reports that the moves are part of the city’s energy saving measures, and an ambition to be carbon neutral by 2030.
That’s the latest from the Local Government News Roundup.
The podcast now moves to a summer schedule, with episodes dropping as required over the next couple of months. Stay subscribed to make sure you don’t miss any breaking news during December and January.
Head to lgnewsroundup.com for links to the stories referenced in the podcast, along with handy lists of CEO appointments and mayoral election results.
I hope you can join us again soon for more from the Local Government News Roundup, 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.