Chamber's good work continues

TONIGHT was the annual general meeting of the Derwent Valley Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which I attended as the council representative. As a former secretary of the chamber, I was pleased to hear of this organisation's continued good work as the peak representative body of businesses in our region.

One of the chamber's major initiatives in the last year was the negotiating of a security contract for the New Norfolk central business district. By working co-operatively, businesses have been able to obtain overnight security at a cheaper rate than if they obtained security individually. Management of this process has been handed over to an independent committee, which makes good sense in itself.

The Derwent Valley Business and Services Directory is another great initiative of the chamber. Some years ago the chamber enlisted the Derwent Valley Online Access Centre to produce the directory on its behalf. I was pleased to hear that this successful partnership continues to this day. I understand the next edition is almost ready for printing. In the new year I will represent the chamber in discussions with the online centre about further enhancing the usefulness of this valuable publication.

Congratulations to Laurelle Grimley who was returned as president of the chamber, and Faye Windsor who was elected vice-president and will be acting president Mrs Grimley's absence over the next few months. Mark Bennett and Janet Biggar were returned as secretary and treasurer respectively. Elected to the general committee were Greg Hudson and Ray Williams, and myself as the council representative. Solictor Steve Dixon continues as public officer.

Council report

THERE is much to report from last week's council meeting so I'll start with my 16 motions on notice. These took about two hours to deal with, so I'll try to limit myself in future. There is still much I want to bring before the council... not least a review of the pink planter pots.

Below are my 16 motions tabled at the council meeting. I have also included my speech notes, which will shed some light on my reasoning. I welcome any comments on these motions.

I have included the votes as recorded by me at the meeting, but I will compare these with the minutes (once published) and make any necessary corrections.

1.      That the details of Public Questions, and the answer given, be recorded in the minutes of that meeting.
•       A simple matter of openness and accountability
•       Will assure the public that its questions are taken seriously

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr James Graham
CARRIED unanimously


2.      That the answers to Public Questions taken on notice be recorded in the minutes of the subsequent meeting.
•       Under the previous administration questions taken on notice frequently went unanswered. This will ensure accountability

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr Scott Shaw
CARRIED unanimously


3.      That the details of councillor Questions Without Notice, and the answer given, be recorded in the minutes of the meeting
•       Councillor questions have appeared to go unanswered in the past, often repeated at subsequent council meetings
•       Will ensure all interested persons have access to the answers

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr James Graham
CARRIED unanimously


4.      That all attachments referred to in council agendas be made available online with the agenda to the meeting
•       A way to improve the sharing of information

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr James Elliott
CARRIED 5-4
Those in favour: Mayor Martyn Evans, Deputy Mayor Craig Farrell and Councillors Damian Bester, James Graham and Scott Shaw
Those against: Councillors Judy Bromfield, Jim Elliott, Barry Lathey and Narelle Molan



5.      That the minutes of all council committees and special committees be made available online
•       Some minutes are included in the monthly information bulletin but not all
•       An important innovation to improve the flow of information from the council and its committees and the public
•       Hardcopies should also be made available at the council chambers

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr Scott Shaw
CARRIED 7-2
Those in favour: Mayor Martyn Evans, Deputy Mayor Craig Farrell and Councillors Damian Bester, Jim Elliott, James Graham, Barry Lathey and Scott Shaw
Those against: Councillors Judy Bromfield and Narelle Molan


6.      That the monthly financial reports be made available online
•       Will show that the council is open and accountable in financial matters
•       Improve the public’s perception of the council

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr James Graham
CARRIED 7-2
Those in favour: Mayor Martyn Evans, Deputy Mayor Craig Farrell and Councillors Damian Bester, Jim Elliott, James Graham, Barry Lathey and Scott Shaw
Those against: Councillors Judy Bromfield and Narelle Molan


7.      That the council allocate the necessary staffing resources for the redevelopment and frequent updating of the council website
•       Cr Shaw has spoken previously about making more effective use of the council website and my previous motions seek to do the same, but proper resources will be required.
•       Perhaps funding could be received for a pilot project
•       Could be an example to other councils

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr James Elliott
CARRIED unanimously





8.      That the salary range of all staff earning a package in excess of  $75,000 be listed in the annual report
•       Local Government Act provides for this to occur.
•       General Mananger advised me at last AGM that the council was able to determine which positions were listed. This is an opportunity to do so

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr Scott Shaw
CARRIED 6-3

Those in favour: Mayor Martyn Evans, Deputy Mayor Craig Farrell and Councillors Damian Bester, James Graham and Scott Shaw
Those against:  Councillors Jim Elliott and Barry Lathey
Abstained: Cr Judy Bromfield 



9.      That council no longer avail itself of the services of Mr James Crotty

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
No Seconder
MOTION LAPSED for want of a seconder (Why not ask them all why?)



10.     That the council advertise all workshops and open them to the public
•       Council is well aware of my position on workshops
•       Despite assurances it is plainly obvious that decisions have been made in workshops. This is hidden by the use of terms such as “reaching an understanding”. Whatever you call it, it is against the law and it must stop now
•       The Local Government Act does provide for workshops to be held, but it is silent on the subject of participation. So there is no legal reason why the public must continue to be excluded

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr James Graham
CARRIED 8-1
Those in favour: Mayor Martyn Evans, Deputy Mayor Craig Farrell and Councillors Damian Bester, Judy Bromfield, Jim Elliott, James Graham, Narelle Molan and Scott Shaw
Abstained: Cr Barry Lathey


11.     That all correspondence addressed to “the mayor and councillors” be opened, duplicated and forwarded to all councilors
•       An obvious thing, but appears not to occur in all cases
•       Increase flow of information and improve public confidence in the council

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr Craig Farrell (deputy mayor)
CARRIED 8-1
Those in favour: Mayor Martyn Evans, Deputy Mayor Craig Farrell and Councillors Damian Bester, Jim Elliott, James Graham, Barry Lathey, Narelle Molan and Scott Shaw
Those against: Cr Judy Bromfield


12.     That all mail addressed to the mayor, deputy mayor, or individual councillors be forwarded to the named addressee, unopened, and that each councillor keep a record of such mail received
•       This should not need to be stated
•       A federal offence to interfere in the delivery of mail
•       Famous example of a private letter about a legal matter being opened, copied and simply popped into a councillors pigeon hole, where it sat for a week until the councillor was notified of the existence of the letter by the press

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr Craig Farrell (deputy mayor)
CARRIED (votes to come)



13.     That a review be conducted of the process followed in the recent review of the general manager’s performance
•       Not about a new review of the general manager
•       Aim is to ensure a proper process was followed
•       Any interested councillor should take part so long as they have no perceived interests, such as common membership of a fraternal organisation, for example

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr Scott Shaw
LOST 8-1 (why not ask them all why?)


14.     That a special meeting be held to conduct a line-by-line analysis of the Royal Derwent Hospital Development Reserve financial report and that the general manager, accountant, Valley Vision project officer and Valley Vision chairman be requested to attend and prepared to answer questions about the contents of the report
•       I will not go so far as to say money has been misappropriated, but there have been some very poor decisions made in the management of millions of dollars of Willow Court funding
•       Some people believe we must put the past behind us and move on
•       I say we cannot move on until we know what happened.
•       Those who do not learn from their history are condemned to repeat it.
•       Want to determine the full extent of the mismanagement of the Willow Court funds
•       It seems anything and everything connected with Valley Vision has been charged to the Willow Court account. This includes window washing at the Valley Vision office, doctors bills, $200,000 of office
refurbishment, and accommodation in Spain.
•       Will seek to have inappropriate billings and transfers refunded, whether it is from the council’s consolidated revenue if appropriate, or from Valley Vision

Cr Barry Lathey declared an interest in this matter and left the room
Valley Vision project officer Ian Brown also left the room

AMENDMENT: Moved by Cr Jim Elliott and Seconded by Cr Craig Farrell that the words "line-by-line" be deleted from the motion. The amendment was put to the vote and carried, and thus became the motion.

The motion was then put and Carried (votes to follow).



15.     That the council resume direct authority for Willow Court and its redevelopment and that the project officer provide a written update at each monthly council meeting, in open session
•       Time to make a move
•       Valley Vision has had about 10 years and has failed dismally
•       Bring it right into council
•       It appears that the Valley Vision project officer is also the council’s economic development officer, so there will be no loss of momentum or corporate memory
•       Must work with the community. Need to formalise the status of the Willow Court working party and open it to the public as was originally promised

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr Craig Farrell (deputy mayor)
CARRIED (votes to come)

16.     That council develops a plan to open Willow Court to visitors as soon as possible
•       The council and Valley Vision have clearly failed in their “big bang” approach to redeveloping the site
•       Council and Valley Vision constantly make reference to Port Arthur but have clearly learned nothing from the experience of that historic site
•       No part of the Port Arthur site would ever be sold, yet the council continues to seek to dispose of more sections at Willow Court
•       I call for the building known as Allonah to be removed from the list of properties up for sale
•       I do not support the desire to sell the buildings known as Derwent, Esperance, Bronte and Glenora, but if I lose that argument we must ensure that the associated car parks are not sold. We must not get ourselves into a repeat of the ridiculous sale of roads and footpaths on the site.
•       Must start small. Make the site safe and open it up.
•       From little things, big things grow

MOVED by Cr Damian Bester
SECONDED by Cr Scott Shaw
CARRIED (votes to come)

And at 8.40pm, after two hours of intensive debate, the council moved on to the next item on the agenda.

My committees

AT last week's council meeting I was elected to represent the council on the following committees:

Bushy Park Swimming Pool Special Committee
Environmental Management Special Committee
New Norfolk Business Alliance Special Committee
Derwent Valley Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Maydena Community Association
Land Sale Committee
Lyell Highway Committee
Community Grants Committee

I am looking forward to meeting the other members of these committees and working with them to achieve their goals. It will also be my ambition to better promote the good work done by these committees.

I was also elected as a proxy to Cr James Graham on the Lachlan Reserve Special Committee.

Oh what a night

I MUST admit that I never expected my first council meeting to last more than five hours, but it was great! As Councillor Bromfield said, it was just like old times. She was right. The level of debate had not been seen since the days of mayor Tim Morris and earlier. Under the last couple of mayors, a long meeting was one that lasted more than an hour.

My putting up 16 motions-on-notice was probably a little excessive in retrospect, but I appreciate the support of my council colleagues in endorsing 14 of them. I was disappointed that two items failed to win their support and will have more to say about that in coming days.

In truth, most of my motions were hardly rocket science. They were simple common sense motions about the way the council provides information to the public. They were not about providing additional information, just providing it in a more effective way - online. Some councillors were rightly concerned about the extra burden this will place on council staff, so I have volunteered to assist in this process until the council can allocate the necessary staffing resources.

A closed meeting was held after the open session. I objected to this, and expressed my concern that the agenda for the closed meeting was withheld until the last minute, leaving councillors no time to consider its contents. I voted against the two items on the closed agenda.

This week's ad

It's a start

I HAVE tabled 16 "motions on notice" for this week's council meeting. All relate to my stated objectives of bringing openness, accountability and transparency to the council. I welcome any comments and will report back on my success or otherwise. I have emailed the full list to all councillors (with the exception of Cr Lathey who does not have email) and invited their comments too. Only Cr Elliott has responded so far, and while he does not agree with all of my motions, his comments were thoughtful and considered.


1. That the detail of Public Questions, and the answer given, be recorded in the minutes of that council meeting.

2. That the answers to Public Questions taken on notice be recorded in the minutes of the subsequent council meeting.

3. That the detail of councillor Questions Without Notice, and the answer given, be recorded in the minutes of that meeting.

4. That all attachments referred to in council agendas be made available online with the agenda prior to the meeting.

5. That the minutes of all council committees and Special Committees be made available online.

6. That the monthly financial reports be made available online.

7. That the council allocate the necessary staffing resources for the redevelopment and frequent updating of the council website.

8. That the salary range of all staff earning a package in excess of $75,000 be listed in the annual report.

9. That council no longer avail itself of the services of Mr James Crotty.

10. That council advertise all workshops and open them to the public.

11. That all correspondence addressed to "the mayor and councillors" be opened, duplicated and forwarded to all councillors.

12. That all mail addressed to the mayor, deputy mayor or individual councillors be forwarded to the named addressee, unopened, and that each councillor keep a record of such mail received.

13. That a review be conducted of the process followed in the recent review of the general manager's performance.

14. That a special meeting be held to conduct a line-by-line analysis of the Royal Derwent Hospital Development Reserve financial report and that the general manager, accountant, Valley Vision project officer and Valley Vision chairman be requested to attend and prepared to answer questions about the contents of the report.

15. That council resume direct authority for Willow Court and its redevelopment and that the project officer provide a written update at each monthly council meeting, in open session.

16. That council develops a plan to open Willow Court to visitors as soon as possible.

Not crazy, just a little unwell

AT long last the chickenpox spots are starting to disappear. I have no idea where they came from but I'm hearing that the illness is rife in local schools, and considering my education role at work, that could be a likely source of infection. My commiserations to those parents who are coping with sick children at home. Anyhow, the lethargy has now largely left me and it's time to get on with things. For anyone who missed it, here's my last newspaper advertisement. It appeared in the Derwent Valley Gazette on November 4, and what a cracker that issue was! Reporter Blair Richards did an excellent job wrapping up the council election. If you missed it, I'm sure there are still copies at their office in Burnett St, although you'd be wise to phone ahead. I've just drafted my advertising for this week's Gazette. PS: You need to click on the advertisement to see the whole thing.

Beam me up, spotty

A THANK-YOU and an apology to all those people who have responded to my community survey published in last week's Derwent Valley Gazette. The day before last week's Gazette hit the streets, I awoke to find myself covered in spots from head to toe. This was soon diagnosed as chickenpox, with the prize of two weeks off work. This has knocked me for six, and today is the first time I've been able to drag myself off the couch to respond to some emails and acknowledge the many responses I have received to the little survey form published last week.

So, thanks to everyone who has responded so far. Please keep them coming. I will publish the results here, as well as in the Gazette and at the next council meeting. For those who have sent their response as emails, I'm sorry for not responding to date, but I will do so this illness subsides.