On the Local Government News Roundup for 14th October 2023,
fears a major highway development will divide a community;
A councillor taken to court over a fire prevention order;
Moira Shire commences the search for a new CEO and brings in an interim; plus more news from the regions;
Interstate we have councillors stepping down, speculation about a CEO’s status; a rough start for a council’s new waste service;
and overseas, a mayor loses a court challenge against the government; more alarm bells about UK councils, and a move to allow 16 year olds to be elected as mayors in Malta.
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Stories in this episode (with links where available)
Victorian Roundup:
The release of detailed designs for the northern end of the North East Link has been met with disappointment from residents in Watsonia, who say the highway will permanently divide the community.
Banyule City Council Mayor Peter Castaldo told the Age this week that the design fails to put local people first, and is not well-connected or integrated.
He said it was difficult to assess the full impact without further detail about the impact on Watsonia station, and that the council will continue with its Lid the Link campaign to see the highway trench covered to provide a green bridge and boost accessibility.
Golden Plains councillor Les Rowe has been ordered to pay $6000 in costs, and a fine of $200, after being take to court by the council over a failure to pay a fire prevention order.
The Geelong Advertiser has reported on the case which was heard in the Magistrates Court this week.
A spokesperson for the council told the Advertiser that the council acknowledged Cr Rowe’s appeal against his fine, and referred to the court determination for further information.
Earlier this year, Cr Rowe was suspended for one month after an arbiter finding of misconduct against him.
Yarra City Council has endorsed the introduction of a night-time cat curfew, starting January 1, 2024. The curfew will be in effect from 7pm to 7am, and will apply to all cats in the municipality.
The curfew is designed to protect cats from a number of hazards, including traffic accidents, dog attacks, and disease. It will also help to reduce the nuisance caused by cats, such as noise and mess.
The curfew is supported by a number of animal welfare groups, including the RSPCA and the Lost Dogs’ Home. Yarra joins other inner-city councils, such as Melbourne and Darebin, in introducing a night-time cat curfew.
Moira Shire has commenced recruitment for a new chief executive officer, following the recent resignation of Clare Keenan.
PHOTO CREDIT: Alice Miles/The Miles Creative Co.
The council has appointed experienced local government executive Michael Tudball as its Acting CEO for a six month period, commencing 23rd October.
Mr Tudball is the former CEO of Southern Grampians, and has recently held interim senior roles at Corangamite and Hindmarsh Shires.
GEM Recruitment has been engaged to conduct the recruitment of a permanent CEO, who will have the opportunity to lead the council through the remainder of a five year period of administration until the return to an elected council in 2028.
Mildura Council will not hold any activities in venues that have gambling activities, under a new draft policy that it is asking the community to comment on.
The policy is aimed at minimising harm within the community linked to gambling.
Other draft policy initiatives include advocating for a reduction in the current EGM cap in regional areas, funding for alternative activities to gambling, and considering opportunities to limit the impact of gambling on the community through planning scheme changes.
Cr Troy Bailey said figures showed gambling losses from electronic gaming machines in the Mildura region topped more than $38 million in the last financial year.
Representatives from government and the Wellington Shire community have gathered in Sale to mark the start of construction of the $23 million redevelopment of Aqua Energy Leisure Centre.
The redeveloped facility is due for completion in June 2025.
Wellington Shire Council Mayor, Cr Ian Bye, said it was the largest infrastructure project ever to be undertaken in the Shire’s history.
Funding has come from Victorian Government, including $2 million from the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund and $10 million from the Community Sports Infrastructure Loan Scheme, $950,000 from the John Leslie Foundation, with the remainder of the project funded from Wellington Shire Council.
Buloke Shire Council will write to the Minister for Police calling on the State Government to guarantee that one-person police stations will not close.
Concerns have arisen in response to Victoria Police Enterprise Agreement negotiations that could see increased mobility for deployment and rostering of one-person station employees.
There are fears that employees from 98 one-person stations in small towns across Victoria including those in Birchip, Culgoa and Wycheproof, may be rostered out to larger regional centres and cities, potentially undermining the safety and security of rural communities.
Preliminary reports are soon to be released for the next group of councils undergoing electoral representation reviews.
There are 11 councils in the third round of reviews, commencing with Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Merri-bek and Moonee Valley.
Their reports will come out this week, followed in subsequent weeks by reports for Maribyrnong, Melton, Mornington Peninsula and Whittlesea; then Casey, Hume and Wyndham.
There’ll be a three week period for submissions once the preliminary reports are released.
Victorian Briefs:
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Emergency Services Jaclyn Symes joined Campaspe Shire Mayor Cr Rob Amos on Friday, for the official opening of the new Campaspe Shire Recovery Hub in Rochester.
The Victorian Government provided $1.9 million in funding to establish the facility and $512,000 for Council’s dedicated Flood Recovery Team which operates from the hub.
Nine Victorian councils have been recognised as finalists in this year’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards for a diverse range of projects spanning four of the six categories – Thriving Environment, Future Energy, Sustainable Places and Healthy and Fair Society.
They include Australia’s first 100 per cent renewable energy- powered aquatic centre in Brimbank, free training sessions for environmental champions in Hume, and energy and water saving kits for residents at Yarra Ranges, Maroondah and Knox.
Winners will be announced in November.
Bayside City Council’s parking permits have gone digital.
The new digital permits for beach and residential parking use a vehicle number plate as the permit, so there is nothing to display, and they are transferable between vehicles.
National Roundup:
NSW:
It’s been a rough start for Inner West Council’s new organics and recycling service, this week, with residents describing the streets of the city’s inner west as “bin anarchy”.
The Daily Telegraph reports on claims that the new system, which sees general waste services collected once a fortnight rather than weekly, has caused mass confusion among residents.
Many residents have complained about wrong information being issued by the council and bins being stolen or never delivered.
While some locals have taken to social media to blast the council, the council has defended the rollout, saying that it is committed to making it a success.
The new system is part of a statewide initiative to reduce waste and increase recycling. By 2030, all NSW councils will be required to have a FOGO service in place.
Rex Airlines has announced a reduced flight schedule between Parkes and Sydney from October 29, 2023 to March 30, 2024 due to a shortage of pilots and aircraft engines.
Rex has given undertakings that the scheduled flights for the Elvis festival will not change.
Parkes Shire Mayor Neil Westcott said the council understands the need for the reduced schedule and hopes for a positive outcome in the new year. He also said that the council continues to support Rex Airlines and is working with the airline to ensure that the communication lines remain strong.
A review and decision is to be made in March 2024 regarding returning to the existing schedules.
Kempsey Shire Council says it has been forced to bring in Level 1 water restrictions from Monday 16 October due to the continued dry weather.
Under the restrictions, residents can water outside using hand-held hoses for one hour every second day, between 4pm and 9am only.
Houses with an even number can water on the even days of the month, while houses with odd numbers water on the odd days of the month. There is no watering at all on the 31st day of any month.
QLD:
The Queensland Government has announced a raft of planning reforms to unlock housing and land supply in the state.
The proposed changes include new powers for the planning minister to acquire land or create easements for infrastructure delivery; a new priority assessment pathway; and a new land use zone called the Urban Investigation Zone, which the government says will enable councils to better manage development in growth areas.
The minister’s direction powers for local planning schemes are also among the processes set to be streamlined.
Scenic Rim Regional Council has appointed an acting CEO to step in for David Keenan, who is on leave.
Speculation has been rife as to the whereabouts of Mr Keenan, with suggestions that he would not be returning because he had been stood down, according to a report from the Beaudesert Times (12/10/23)
Mayor Greg Christensen said the meeting to appoint Oliver Pring, the current general manager for council sustainability as interim CEO, was simply part of a contingency plan.
Meanwhile, the deputy mayor Jeff McConnell has announced that he will contest the upcoming election for mayor of Scenic Rim, going up against current two term mayor Greg Christensen.
Queensland local government elections are due in March.
Gold Coast City Council has approved a new high-rise development in Surfers Paradise, consisting of three towers of 54, 73, and 80 storeys. The project, known as Cypress, is expected to cost $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion and will deliver 1,321 apartments and 335 short-term accommodation units.
The development is expected to boost the city’s economy and create jobs, as well as providing much-needed housing in the area. The towers will also feature a number of public amenities, including a park, a playground, and a retail precinct.
ABC News reports that construction on Cypress is expected to begin in early 2024 and be completed in 2027.
Police at Sarina in Queensland are investigating an incident where a council vehicle was allegedly shot at while parked on the roadside south of Mackay.
The incident occurred sometime from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning, when Mackay Regional Council employees noticed damage to one of their vehicles left at a roadworks site, including a shot through a window.
The Courier Mail says Police have confirmed that they are currently investigating a wilful damage complaint.
SA:
Adelaide City Council has approved a new Community Land Management Plan that will enable the State Government to proceed with building a new $135 million aquatic centre in a North Adelaide park.
A tied vote on the plan was broken by the Lord Mayor, Jane Lomax-Smith.
InDaily.com reports that four councillors opposed the CLMP, arguing that it weakens protections for the city’s green belt and that the State Government should explore a brownfield site for the new aquatic centre.
However, the Lord Mayor said that the council had requested the State Government to build the aquatic centre on the park and that it would be difficult to change course now.
The council’s approval of the new CLMP came after two attempts by the opposing councillors to delay the vote were unsuccessful.
The new aquatic centre is expected to be completed in 2025.
WA:
Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge paid tribute to three retiring councillors at Wednesday night’s final council meeting before local government elections on Saturday 21 October.
Councillors Bryn Jones, Rachel Pemberton, and Su Groome are bowing out after each making significant contributions to the city over the years.
Councillor Jones served on council for a total of 14 years, including four years as chair of the city’s planning committee.
Councillor Pemberton represented City Ward for 12 years and served on several committees and working groups.
Councillor Groome was a councillor for four years and said she was stepping down due to the workload in her job.
National Briefs:
Recruitment has commenced for a new general manager of Nambucca Valley Shire, following the resignation of Chris Thompson after 18 months.
LG Management Solutions is handling the process, with applications due by 6th November.
20 years of local government service will come to an end in March for Bundaberg councillor Wayne Honor.
The Courier Mail reports that Cr Honor has confirmed he will not contest the March elections. He was first elected in 2004 to the former Kolan Shire, before being elected to Bundaberg Regional a council in 2008.
Wagga Wagga City Council will seek approval from the Minister for Local Government to carry a vacancy through to next September’s election, after the resignation of Dan Hayes from the Council.
Cr Hayes’s resignation will take effect on the 20th October. He was first elected in 2016, and his departure is because he is relocating to Wollongong to take up a new job.
Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council will also seek to operate with a vacant councillor position for the remainder of the term, after receiving the resignation of Councillor Edwina Webster, for personal reasons.
Ms Webster was elected to the council in December 2021.
Cowra Shire Council will seek urgent assistance from the state’s Health and Environment Ministers to manage the issue of a growing flying fox population at the Cowra Golf Club.
Over the last 18 months, the colony has dramatically increased to an estimated 45,000 bats, believed to be one of the largest in the state, posing a threat to the golf club and nearby sporting fields.
International Spotlight:
UK:
A High Court judge has ruled that a local councillor does not have an arguable case to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision to house asylum seekers on a barge in Portland Harbour, Dorset.
But a fresh legal challenge means the matter is not yet over.
Carralyn Parkes, the mayor of Portland, had argued that the housing of asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge was a “breach of planning control” and that there had not been “compliance” with environmental impact assessment duties.
She also argued that the Home Secretary had not complied with duties under the 2010 Equality Act.
Mr Justice Holgate ruled on Wednesday that Mrs Parkes’s claims should be dismissed, and suggested that the case should have been directed at Dorset council rather than the Home Office.
The Guardian reports that Mrs Parkes has now launched a case against the council in the high court, seeking a decision that the council has erred in law in determining it cannot take planning enforcement action in the matter.
Government lawyers had argued that the local planning authority did not think planning permission was required and that there was no “general principle” that housing “non-British asylum seekers” together on a vessel was “unlawful” under a public sector equality duty.
Additional reporting on that story from the Craven Herald and Pioneer – link in the show notes.
More alarm bells about Council finances in the UK this week, with BBC News reporting that London’s borough councils are facing a collective shortfall of £400m in 2023, rising to £500m next year.
A “perfect storm” of prolonged high inflation, fast-increasing demand for services, and insufficient government funding is said to be the cause of the shortfall.
London Councils, an organisation that represents London’s 32 borough councils and the City of London, has called on the government to urgently support local services and help stabilise council finances.
The government has said that London boroughs have received an increase of 9.3% in core spending power in 2023, but London Councils says that this is not enough to cover the rising costs of services.
Croydon Council has already declared bankruptcy, and Havering Council has said that it could be bankrupt within six months. Enfield Council has said that there is “no evidence” it will go bust, but it has the 10th highest debt of any local authority in England.
London Councils says that despite there being 800,000 more Londoners since 2010, London boroughs’ resources are a fifth lower than they were 13 years ago.
Birmingham City Council has reached agreement with staff and trade unions on a job evaluation scheme, which is seen as a key development in resolving its long running and costly equal pay liability issue.
The parties have agreed to principles of working on the delivery of a new Pay Equity System. The cost of settling the pay claims has been estimated at £760M.
Only five out of 467 local government bodies in England received an auditor’s opinion on their 2022-23 accounts by the required deadline of September 30, according to the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA).
The PSAA, a not-for-profit company established by the Local Government Association (LGA), said the backlog of audit opinions was becoming “more and more serious”, according a report from the website Room151.co.uk
PSAA chair Steve Freer said: “It is now very clear that an extraordinary intervention of some sort is urgently required to put the system back on track.”
The backlog of audit opinions is due to a number of factors, including a shortage of auditors, the complexity of local government finances, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bright pink bins for electrical waste have led to a significant increase in the collection of e-waste for recycling in Cambridge.
Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service installed the bins last year to reduce the amount of electrical items ending up in regular bins.
Since then, over 49 tonnes of small electrical appliances have been collected, which is 44 tonnes more than the previous year.
The partnership between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council says the initiative has resulted in nine times more e-waste being collected for recycling.
Europe:
The Maltese government has launched the legislative process to enable local councillors as young as 16 or 17 to become mayors and deputy mayors, in what will be a first for Europe, according to a report from the Times of Malta
Currently, 16 and 17-year-olds can vote and contest local council elections, but they cannot become mayor or deputy mayor, even if they receive the highest or second-highest number of first-count votes.
If the bill is approved, councillors under the age of 18 who win the highest number of votes from the party that gets the majority of votes can take up the post of mayor or deputy mayor.
The bill also proposes a series of other amendments, including:
- Making the council’s mayor and executive secretary “jointly” responsible” for representing the council in legal spheres, meaning both can sue – or be sued – on the council’s behalf.
- Allowing mayors under 18 to be able to sign legal documents, such as contracts and cheques, on the local council’s behalf.
Local council elections take place in Malta and Gozo every five years, with the next election due in June 2024.
CANADA:
The council of Murray Harbour, P.E.I., has ordered an investigation into one of its councillors, who displayed a sign denying the existence of residential school graves.
The investigation will be led by a former RCMP officer and was unanimously voted for by the council.
Coun. John Robertson’s signs allegedly claimed there had been a mass grave hoax and were displayed ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The village mayor and council have asked the councillor to resign, but he has so far refused to do so.
The Canadian Press reports that he did not turn up for the council meeting, and calls to him went unanswered.
USA:
The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for passing an ordinance that bans drag performances from taking place on public property. The ACLU argues that the ordinance violates the First and 14th Amendments, according to a report from WBIR.com
The lawsuit is the latest development in the ongoing political battle over LGBTQ+ rights in Tennessee. The state has passed a number of laws in recent years that have been criticized by LGBTQ+ advocates, including a law that bans transgender students from participating in sports teams that align with their gender identity.
The ACLU’s lawsuit is likely to be closely watched by LGBTQ+ advocates and legal experts across the country. The outcome of the case could have implications for the rights of LGBTQ+ people to express themselves through drag performances
NZ:
Gore District Council has voted to retain Stephen Parry as interim chief executive, despite his resignation in September.
Parry resigned after 22 years in the role, and a period of instability at the council, including a very public, dysfunctional relationship with its new mayor.
The decision to retain him on an interim basis is itself proving contentious, with reports that it was not unanimous among councillors, and one councillor telling news outlet Stuff that legal action is underway.
It was widely tipped that council general manager, Rex Capil, would be appointed the interim, but he has also resigned and is heading to Invercargill Council.