Today on the Local Government News Roundup, the fallout continues from South Australia’s campaign donation return debacle; digging for dinosaurs in Gippsland; a CEO takes personal leave while another resigns; a $5B call for emergency road funding; and a clown applies for a CEO’s job.
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Transcript (with story links):
Hi, this is Chris Eddy, with the latest from the Local Government News Roundup.
On the podcast today – the fallout continues from South Australia’s campaign donation return debacle; digging for dinosaurs in Gippsland; a CEO takes personal leave while another resigns; and a $5B call for emergency road funding. That and more just ahead on the Local Government News Roundup.
The fallout continues in South Australia’s local government sector after it was revealed last week that 45 councillors failed to submit campaign donation returns by the required deadline.
Three mayors are confirmed to have lost their positions. They are Matt Larwood of Prospect, Geoff Churchett from Tumby Bay, and Phill Stone from Whyalla.
Most of the 42 remaining councillors to be ousted are from regional areas.
Burnside is one council to reveal that one of its councillors has been caught up in the crisis.
Ted Jennings is no longer a council member as of Friday 10th February, pending a potential appeal to SACAT.
In a statement, the council said the position will remain vacant while any appeal process takes place.
Appeals need to be lodged by 20th February.
The costs of any new elections will be borne by the affected councils, estimated by one council to be $15,000.
Tumby Bay chief executive Rebecca Hayes has told the ABC that there had been a failure of process. She said the new system wasn’t robust enough., and there wasn’t enough advice or training.
The President of South Australia’s Local Government Association Dean Johnson, who is also the mayor of Kimba, said the situation was complicated and there needs to be a full investigation.
The criticism has been rejected by the Electoral Commissioner, Mick Sherry, who said the disclosure process does not need to change, but that they might consider bringing people on to “hold the hands of these candidates” to constantly remind them of their obligation.
A dinosaur dig is underway in Inverloch this week, looking for fossilised bones and evidence of the prehistoric age.
It’s the first dig since the pandemic, and it comes as Bass Coast Shire ramps up plans for a $40M world-class Dinosaurs Trail to celebrate the area’s pre-historic heritage.
The trail will include the current dig site at The Caves – a site known to harbour polar dinosaur fossils dating back 126M years.
Design of the project is under way, thanks to a $500K state government tourism grant. The first stage will feature a trail of six creative experience sites, while the second will include a museum discovery centre and stargazing observatory.
Baw Baw Shire has launched a community advocacy campaign calling for state government action and investment in a better road network for Drouin and Warragul.
The online campaign provides a way for people to tell government ministers and MPs why they think arterial road planning is urgently needed in the towns.
Ahead of the state budget, the council is advocating for a $3m investment in a future ready arterial network to accommodate increasing residential construction, population growth, growing agricultural demand and the forthcoming new West Gippsland Hospital.
Meanwhile, Moorabool Shire is continuing to advocate for funding to deliver an indoor pool to complete the Moorabool Aquatic and Recreation Centre.
CEO Derek Madden said the pool was still at the top of the council’s priority project list, informing its advocacy to both the state and federal governments’ upcoming budgets,
An ongoing shortage of waste-truck drivers has led to collection delays in Merri-bek, with the council this week apologising to residents.
The council says it is trying to recruit 3 new staff members, and in the meantime crews are working extra hours and Saturdays to catch up.
While household rubbish is up to date, crews are working to catch up on recycling, and food and organics waste collection in parts of the municipality.
Casey City Council has signed a five year partnership agreement with rugby league club Melbourne Storm.
Chair of Administrators Noelene Duff said the partnership will help drive rugby league participation in the community, with free community programs and family day events.
The club’s junior representative teams will play some of their home games at Casey Fields during the 2023 season.
At Queenscliffe Borough, CEO Martin Gill has taken extended personal leave for health reasons.
Manager Planning and Community Safety Tim Crawford has stepped into the CEO role on an acting basis while the council explores interim CEO options until Martin’s return.
We wish Martin the best for a speedy recovery.
Briefly in other council news:
Greater Shepparton City Council is calling for nominations from members of the public with an interest in joining the council’s Affordable Housing Reference Group.
The group advises the council on matters relating to affordable housing across Greater Shepparton, and includes representatives from the council and several member organisations.
Up to four community representative positions are available, with nominations closing on Friday 10th March.
Alpine Shire is set to get its first publicly accessible fast charger for electric vehicles.
The charger will be installed in Bright by Evie Networks by July, and will be powered by green energy.
Mayor John Forsyth says the council is looking to encourage more EV chargers across Alpine Shire.
Meanwhile, Benalla Rural City Council is seeking community feedback on a proposal from Tesla to lease a section of a Council-owned car park for an initial 10 EV chargers.
The charging station would also allow access to non-Tesla EVs.
A council-commissioned mural in Mornington Peninsula Shire has won recognition as one of the nation’s best public art experiences.
The 40 metre mural was commissioned to raise awareness and inspire community action on climate change. It received a bronze award at the Australian Street Art Awards.
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Now for more council stories making news this week from around Australia.
The CEO of Northern Beaches, Ray Brownlee, has resigned and is returning to the city of Randwick where he was GM for 14 years until 2018.
Mr Brownlee was appointed to a 5 year contract, and will commence in late March.
He has over 35 years of local government experience, with 22 years at the GM/CEO level at Northern Beaches, Randwick and the former Auburn Council.
Read City of Randwick statement; and report from Northern Beaches Advocate
It’s looking like a tight finish in the by-election to fill a vacancy on Longreach Regional Council.
Queensland Country Life reports that just over half of eligible ballot papers have been counted, with two candidates likely to contest the outcome.
Ingrid Miller has around 29 per cent of votes counted so far, with David Paterson at 26.7 per cent.
Postal votes are still coming in, with polls not due to close until 5pm on Tuesday 21st February.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation late last year of former councillor Tony Martin.
The NSW state government has announced an extension of its loan program for councils.
The low interest loan program will now be open to all 128 NSW councils and nine county councils.
More than 60 councils have accessed over $1 billion in loans since the program’s commencement in 2016.
A previous six month expansion of the program in 2020 was open to all councils as part of Covid-19 stimulus measures.
The Australian Local Government Association is part of a new rural road alliance calling for an emergency funding package of nearly $5.5b in the upcoming federal budget.
The other alliance members are GrainGrowers, the National Farmers Federation and the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association.
The alliance says the rural road network is at breaking point, after 23 flood events since January 2022, with 429 declarations across 277 local government areas.
It says the proposed emergency funding package would stem the rapid deterioration of the network, and reduce the cost to the budget of future climate events.
An election pledge to inject $1B into the regional road network in NSW has been welcomed by LGNSW, along with a call for other candidates to match the pledge.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole announced the commitment, which includes a further $400M for the Fixing Local Roads program; $300M for a new Fast Tracking Freight program; and $300M for a Build Back Better program to invest in more resilient road and transport infrastructure.
LGNSW President Darriea Turley said the commitment is pleasing and desperately needed, and that road networks need to be built to higher standards to withstand future floods and other natural disasters.
Blue Mountains City Council wants animal glue traps banned in NSW, as they are in Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania.
The Blue Mountains Gazette has reported Mayor Mark Greenhill’s comments at a recent council meeting that the traps are cruel and unnecessary and cause great harm to native species.
The council has voted unanimously to lobby the state government to have legislation amended to the same humane level as other states.
Read the Blue Mountains Gazette report here.
The sale of a council car park site will pave the way for a new $55M state government development in Coffs Harbour.
The council has sold the Gordon Street site to the state government for $3.9M.
The government will develop a workplace hub on the site, and the terms of the sale include ongoing provision of public parking.
The council will lease back the same number of existing car spaces for a peppercorn rent.
Mayor Paul Amos said having the major government hub and its large workforce in Coffs Harbour CBD will provide a significant economic boost for the region.
A solar and battery plant will be built by Cabonne Shire Council, thanks to a grant of more than $1.5M announced this week by the NSW state government.
Mayor Kevin Beatty said the project would fund electricity costs across all of the council’s 85 sites, as well as create regional jobs.
He said it would ensure the council could meet its 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.
In Western Australia, the city of Melville has welcomed the approval of a shopping centre expansion that will allow the development of a new library and cultural centre in the Melville City Centre.
The WA Planning Commission has approved the expansion of the Westfield Booragoon Shopping Centre, paving the way for the city’s plans to deliver its Cultural Heart Project.
Mayor George Gear said the expansion will allow the council to deliver its bold vision of a future Melville City Centre.
Now for this episode’s International Spotlight:
A man has turned up to a City Council meeting in Austin, Texas, dressed as a clown to nominate for the CEO position at the city’s energy arm.
The New York Post says Alex Strenger was upset at how recent power outages were handled when a storm impacted nearly 350,000 residents.
He said his mother had told him to dress for the job you want to have, hence the rainbow coloured wig, face paint, big red nose and multicoloured polka dot tie.
The stunt came as power was finally restored to affected residents, some days after the outage occurred.
The city manager’s job evaluation was brought forward by frustrated council members, one of whom said the management of the situation was unacceptable.
CBS News reports that a special meeting of Austin City Council called for this Wednesday is expected to determine the future of city manager Spencer Cronk. It’s reported that the council will discuss a severance package and potential interim management arrangements.
Read the New York Post report here; and CBS News report here.
To New Zealand, and the city of Wellington where street lamps have developed a propensity to droop and drop to the ground, with deadly force.
The city council has launched an internal review after the metal in as many as 1,000 street lamps installed six years ago appeared to wear out, and in some cases, sag and fall.
The Dominion Post says the council is focussed on finding the faulty lamps and making them safe, and is working to fully establish the facts and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
And from England this week, analysis reveals that 7 in 10 UK councils are planning to raise council taxes by the maximum amount allowed without a referendum.
The Local Government Chronicle has monitored the plans of 120 councils, and says just 5 per cent will freeze council tax next financial year, and 25 per cent will lift tax by less than the maximum allowed.
The LGC will release more detail from its annual council tax tracker later this week. Read more.
And there’s been a u-turn on public toilets at one English council after protests and division amongst council members.
Brighton and Hove Council in East Sussex had planned to close a number of public toilets as part of budget balancing measures.
The BBC says critics had warned the closures would disproportionately affect women, children, disabled and homeless people.
In the face of the criticism, the council has now done an about face, and instead of closing toilets it will now re-open more and increase its spend on maintenance and cleaning.
That’s the latest from the Roundup for the 14th February 2023.
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I’ll be back later in the week with more of the latest local government news.. Until then, thanks for listening, and bye for now.