To Have You Say please return your speaker registration form before midday on the 27th.
(If neither of these forms open for you, let us know that you want to make a presentation by emailing to huonvalleyratepayers@gmail.com )
Here are links to relevant information
Future Local Government
and
Planning Matters Tas
HVRRA AGM 2023
6pm Wednesday 12th July at Huon Hub, Mary Street Huonville. All Welcome.
The AGM will be followed by a General Meeting and discussion
Members wishing to nominate for a position on the committee should contact the secretary at huonvalleyratepayers@gmail.com or call 0409 950 885
HVC BUDGET 2023-2024
Huon Valley councillors were presented with to considerior to the Special ‘Budget’ Meeting of council when they decided to raise rates by 12% for the coming financial year.
https://www.futurelocal.tas.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Future-of-Local-Government-Review-Newsletter-Issue-11V1.pdf
Huon Valley Community Vision
The Huon Valley Community Vision is a guiding document for the growth and development of the Huon Valley region over the next 10 to 15 years.
Once developed, it will inform future priorities and strategic decisions and play an important role in the development of council plans and strategies.
To create the Community Vision council will undertake a comprehensive community engagement process between November 2022 and February 2023.
We encourage all community and businesses to become involved in this important first step.
How do you get involved
By completing a 4-minute survey;
- By attending a community workshop;
- By visiting us at a market information stall, coffee and chat session or a pop-up session.
To find out dates for all these events and to register for a workshop please visit Huon Valley Community Vision – Huon Valley Council
The video of the ‘Meet the Candidates’ session is available here.
Candidate Statements can be accessed below
Candidate statements are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ySbeoqCsi8AfGqYOUDPlSyAdbe02bzJs?usp=sharing
We invite all candidates to send us a Candidate Statement explaining why we should VOTE FOR YOU (up to 1000 words). Or simply email us a copy of your flyer (jpg format)
Send your statement (with appropriate authorisation) to huonvalleyratepayers@gmail.com
JULY 13 2022
Scoping the State Planning Provisions Review Consultation Extended
The original consultation period has been extended by two weeks, and will now close on 12 August 2022.
The SPPs Review Scoping Paper has been prepared to assist you with providing feedback. The Scoping Paper and a range of other information can be viewed through the Have Your Say on the Planning in Tasmania website : www.planningreform.tas.gov.au.
Written submissions in response to the SPPs Review Scoping Paper can be made until close of business on Friday, 12 August 2022
in one of the following ways:
1. Via email to: yoursay.planning@dpac.tas.gov.au
2. Via post to: Department of Premier and Cabinet
State Planning Office, GPO Box 123, HOBART TAS 7001
Enquiries can be directed to the Department of Premier and Cabinet, State Planning Office on 1300 703 977 or email stateplanning@dpac.tas.gov.au.
JUNE 25, 2022
‘The community deserved better’
Councillor Code of Conduct complaints against Councillors Doyle and Newell have been upheld.
As members of the General Manager Recruitment Panel they were found to have brought Council and the role of Councillor into disrepute and to have treated people unfairly.
Former Mayor Enders resigned, without giving a reason, before investigation into the complaints against her were finalised.
The Code of Conduct panel determined “that this selection process fell well short of meeting the requirement to carry out the process in a professional manner”.
An Application for a Review has been lodged seeking clarification of some, apparently inconsistent, issues in the Determination.
Here is the full 8 page Determination.
JUNE 16, 2022
At the Special Meeting of HVC on 15th June the Budget recommendations of a 8% rates increase was amended. Acting Deputy Mayor Sue Clarke proposed that the increase be limited to 5% and that consideration of the Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) be postponed until after a new council is elected in October.
Cr Clarke proposed that savings be made by cutting $230,000 from the $940,000 allocated for Strategic Land Use Planning and that the Strategic ‘Seed Funding’ Allocation of $200,000 be scrapped entirely. There was no discussion about alternative or additional savings and these measures were passed unanimously.
With these amendments to the budget having been adopted HVRRA’s plan to host a RATES Q&A in July has been postponed. This does not mean that the issue has gone away. Council’s draft Long Term Financial Plan for the next decade indicates that it is planning to increase rates by 36% over the next 4 years. While the proposed increase of 8% has been reduced to 5% for the coming year is a temporary relief but it is important that the LTFP is subjected to appropriate scrutiny.
PLANNING MATTERS
Our planning scheme must be improved. It is vital that all Tasmanians who care, contribute to the review of the state’s planning provisions, says Anne Harrison.
ONE huge legacy of the recently departed premier, is the new statewide planning scheme.
More than eight years ago, during Peter Gutwein’s tenure as Planning Minister, the planning reforms were initiated and former head of the local Property Council of Australia, Mary Massina, was appointed to develop a new planning scheme which encourages development.
The heartache these planning rule changes have meant for Tasmanians is widespread and runs very deep.
Those new planning rules became the cornerstone of the Interim Planning Schemes in all municipalities across Tasmania, and subsequently the basis of the new Tasmanian Planning Scheme, currently being adopted. It is worth noting that at the time of their implementation around 2015, the Interim Planning Schemes became immediately active before any democratic public hearings.
The new planning rules impact much of what makes Tasmania special, including our liveable, beautiful suburbs and it is thought they can undermine protections for our heritage towns and precincts. The new rules also make it easier for a developer to propose a project in a National Park of their choice, and it can be approved with little, if any, public input.
It is a develop at any cost mentality. We are killing the goose that lays the golden egg. The comparative advantage or point of difference that this state enjoys compared to other states is being eroded.
Tourists visit because the state is beautiful, scenic, with many historic buildings and spectacular wilderness as well as for the food and art scene. They do not come for high-rise towers.
Locals cherish it for these and many different reasons.
Thousands are fighting for the special places they love, whether that is Kangaroo Bay, Rosny Hill, Lake Malbena, the South Coast Track or local ratepayers striving to keep their streetscape character, privacy, and quality of design. Increasing density and infill in suburbs is apparent everywhere.
It was argued at the time that the new planning rules, now called the State Planning Provisions (SPPs), did not comply with their own legislation, the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act (LUPAA 1993). LUPAA 93 was subsequently changed in 2021 to facilitate early adoption of the new planning rules. The overall impact of these recent amendments was to increase the say of the minister, the government and the development lobby.
The new planning provisions remove the checks and balances on development, particularly opportunities for locals who want to positively contribute to how their place looks and works. A council cannot refuse a Development Application which meets the rules or Acceptable Solutions. Non-compliance with the Acceptable Solutions, called a Discretion, allows the community a voice and the developer must argue a Performance Solution to convince council.
The end result of all the new planning rules or SPPs is non-strategic planning which promotes block by block development with little overview as to how a community works in its entirety. Desired Future Character Statements have been removed – so where is the guiding vision for our towns and suburbs? There was no strategic thinking or state policy to guide the planning changes.
Councils are seriously overworked with the current flood of DAs, so much so that there are ongoing rumblings about removing planning from local councils. Many consider that the overarching Resource Management Planning System sitting above 13 pieces of Tasmanian legislation, instituted to achieve sustainable outcomes from the use and development of the state’s natural and physical resources, has now been significantly undermined.
The planning rules or State Planning Provisions are now being reviewed and public comment closes on July 29. It is vital that all Tasmanians who care, contribute to this review. We cannot let development “slice and dice” carve up this beautiful place just for a quick buck. The planning provisions must be improved to deliver better planning outcomes; connected communities, and visionary, strategic planning for the future.
Anne Harrison is the immediate past president of Planning Matters Alliance Tasmania.
APRIL 2022
HUON NEWS – 6th April 2022
When announcing her resignation Mayor Enders gave no specific reason but it seems likely that it was brought on by the controversy and fallout from the flawed GM recruitment. Now two more councillors have resigned saying they cannot continue working with a conflicted general manager and those councillors who are willing to ignore the widespread community concern.
This council was elected in 2018 and enjoyed broad community support with the mix of councillors from diverse backgrounds seen as a well balanced representation of community interests and aspirations. Former Mayor Bec Enders’ leadership was quickly put to the test during the 2019 bushfires. Council staff and emergency service personnel did most of the on-ground work but Mayor Enders was a reassuring media presence at a time when we all felt vulnerable.
Early last year Mayor Enders dropped the ball when she stood unsuccessfully for election as a Liberal candidate and left Deputy Mayor Sally Doyle in charge of the General Manager Recruitment Panel. Dropping the ball is excusable but then she didn’t pick it up again after being unsuccessful at the ballot box. Many in the community feel that Mayor Enders simply tried to use her position as a stepping stone to higher office and failed. Whether this is true or not she seemed to lose interest in her role as mayor and, by her own admission, didn’t do her job correctly when it came to the single most important decision that councillors are faced with in their term of office. A decision that has long term consequences.
With no effective leadership the recruitment panel ignored professional advice telling them that the recruitment process lacked integrity and then ignored pleas from the community. In the words of the Auditor General, “Council decided to proceed with the recruitment despite knowing, after receipt of the report from its Legal Adviser, that the process lacked integrity.” Since then Mayor Enders did nothing to restore confidence in her and council’s integrity by continually refusing reasonable requests for relevant information.
The Huon Valley community now find itself with a depleted Council. The General Manager is under a dark cloud and many in the community – and among them council staff – have little confidence in him. Mayor Enders has gone and left Sally Doyle to sort out the mess.
In the article in the Huon News about her resignation Mayor Enders claimed that “Complaints have been lodged against me and the determination made by the appropriate authorities were that we did not breach the Code of Conduct”. This is not the case. Mayor Enders resigned before any determination had been made by “the appropriate authorities”. It is due at the end of April. It was the council commissioned Edge Legal opinion that claimed that the Code of Conduct had not been breached.
Nor did the Tasmanian Integrity Commission clear council of wrongdoing it simply said that that “it is not in the public interest for the Commission to further investigate these matters” and that some of the people involved “were not public officers at the time” and so it could not investigate them. This is very different from it saying that there were no breaches.
The Integrity Commission has very limited jurisdiction and restricted powers of investigation compared to an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that can actually demand answers of both public and private individuals. If the community wants a genuine Tasmanian ICAC it will have to make this clear since most politicians certainly do not want one.
4 April 2022
Councillors Campbell and Gibson resign – ‘effective immediately’
The flawed GM recruitment process has led to two more resignations of HV councillors. This means one third of the councillors have resigned in the last couple of weeks
Councillors Christine Campbell and Paul Gibson sent Acting Mayor Sally Doyle their letters of resignation on Sunday 3rd April.
Unlike former Mayor Bec Enders they explained exactly why they were resigning.
Their resignation letters are here:
3rd April 2022
Acting Mayor Sally Doyle
Huon Valley Council
Main Street, Huonville
Dear Acting Mayor,
I am writing to resign as a Huon Valley councillor, effective today.
As an elected member on the recruitment panel, I was tasked with selecting council’s
key staff position – the General Manager. I first became aware of the serious conflict
of interest between the recruitment consultant and one of the applicants, her intimate
partner Jason Browne, on 4 July 2021. I understand the consultant had previously
advised other councillors on the recruitment panel of this relationship on 24 May.
They chose to disregard a conflict that was impossible to resolve, and allowed her to
remain as consultant and oversee applicant short-listing and interviewing.
I raised the seriousness of this conflict on numerous occasions with other panel
members, but my concerns were dismissed. I was told to ‘accept the decision of the
panel’. I was bullied by another councillor when I continued pursuing the issue. This
bullying has caused me a large amount of mental distress. I have been acutely aware of
how bad it is for Huon Valley ratepayers if councillors intentionally ignore such a
basic recruitment conflict.
The bullying of myself in meetings has not been checked by the previous mayor, or by
yourself as acting mayor. I have no confidence meetings are safe from bullying, and
there has been no change to HR practices at council.
A petition to council was signed by 1400 community members asking for action to be
taken about the serious governance failure around the general manager’s employment
processes. The petition reflects widespread resident’s concerns, but it has essentially
been ignored.
When I was elected by the community I made a promise to uphold integrity and
transparency. I will not accept the serious conflict of interest that has allowed the
appointment of the current person as general manager. Nor will I continue to endure
the bullying behaviour of some councillors.
The Director of Local Government, echoed by yourself, has suggested ‘we all move
on’. I don’t believe we should normalise bankrupt recruitment processes, or ignore the
damage these are having on our community’s trust in council.
I am resigning from council because I can no longer participate in processes that are
morally and ethically flawed. I will continue my work with the Huon Valley
community.
Christine Campbell
_________________________________________________________
3 April 2022
Acting Mayor Sally Doyle
Huon Valley Council
Main Street
Huonville
Dear Mayor,
I am writing to you to resign from Council, effective immediately.
The General Manager has been appointed to his position through a corrupted process. He actively participated in a blatant conflict of interest when he took part in the recruitment
process with the consultant – his intimate partner.
The recruitment process was also manipulated within Council. The names of the candidates were leaked before the interviews even started, and Cr Campbell was forced to resign due to bullying from councillors who pushed for this inappropriate appointment.
I cannot remain on a council that knowingly condones these issues.
The General Manager is the only employee chosen by the councillors, who represent the
residents. This is the pivotal role that determines council culture.
Following the Board of Inquiry, at the 2018 election there was an express desire from the
community for good governance and transparency. To fulfill this, we needed to appoint a
highly principled and experienced person to reinforce an excellent workplace culture and
provide the community with a fair and transparent Council. This culture cannot be
promoted in Council under a General Manager who actively participated in such a serious
conflict of interest.
There has been overwhelming public disgust at the General Manager’s recruitment process.
Understandably, residents and ratepayers are expressing their desire to reverse this
appointment through petitions and public meetings. By ignoring this, Council is ignoring its community.
Cr Campbell and I have attempted to steer Council away from this conflicted appointment at every stage but have been outnumbered.
The majority of sitting Councillors prefer to sweep the issues under the carpet, and continue with business as usual and good news stories. This is deeply disrespectful to our electors, especially given the community’s hope for a clean and open new council following the Board of Inquiry.
This conflicted appointment and the associated bad press is damaging public faith
in Council, along with its reputation. At last Wednesday’s council meeting I asked
the General Manager to do the right thing and resign. He has refused.
I made a commitment to the community that council dealings would be transparent and in
the public interest. Under current conditions, and with the majority of elected councillors
overriding all efforts, that is not possible. As such, I can no longer remain on Huon Valley
Council.
I am deeply committed to the Huon Valley community and to the wellbeing of council’s
staff. I won’t stay silent any longer.
My resignation from Council will allow me to speak freely. I intend to stand for Mayor for
the Greens in the upcoming election. My focus will be on fair and transparent governance
and community cohesion.
Paul Gibson
___________________________________________________
28 March
The Tasmanian Government has commissioned the Local Government Board to undertake a Review of the role, function, and design of local government in Tasmania.
Get involved and have your say
Whether or not we realise it, each of us relies on local government services every day — whether it’s for waste and recycling, parks and playgrounds, footpaths and roads, or health and other community services. Councils act as a voice for their local communities – advocating for the delivery of services and support, including from other levels of government.
Councils also make important decisions about building, health and the environment which can shape the character, amenity, and economic activity of their municipality.
This means we all have a stake in local government and its future. Your input is vital
Complete the online community survey by 5pm, 8 May 2022, register for a community workshop near you or online, happening in April and May 2022. Or, host your own conversation using the Conversation Toolkit.
Go to https://engage.futurelocal.tas.gov.au/ to complete the online Community Survey and register for a Community Workshop near you. Please get involved and have your say.
23 March 2022
Huon Valley Council’s Mayor resigns – ‘effective immediately’
When announcing her resignation Mayor Bec Enders gave no reason. It seems likely however that it is related to the controversy surrounding the faulty GM recruitment. And other councillors have told us that they are considering doing the same.
The controversy began when the recruitment consultant, who is the only person known to have seen all 87 applications, provided the panel with a short list that included her partner. Only then did she declare conflict of interest. To make things worse she then provided the panel with advice on how to manage her conflict of interest, which included her sitting in on all interviews except that of her partner, the successful candidate Jason Browne.
Before HVC appointed Jason Browne as General Manager in September last year the Huon Valley Residents & Ratepayers Association (HVRRA) wrote to all councillors warning them that to continue with a flawed process would bring council into disrepute and cause division within the community. Their own legal advisers also warned them.
HVRRA wrote again last week before they confirmed the General Manager’s 5 year contract. It now appears that, directly or indirectly, this has led to the resignation Mayor Enders.
After its sacking in 2016 and 2 years with a State Government appointed Commissioner this council was elected in 2018. It enjoyed broad community support with the mix of councillors from diverse backgrounds seen as a balanced representation of community interests and aspirations. It got off to a good start and Bec Ender’s leadership was quickly put to the test during the 2019 bushfires. While council staff and emergency services did most of the actual on-ground work Mayor Enders was a reassuring media presence at a time when the entire community felt and was vulnerable.
Early last year Mayor Enders dropped the ball when she stood unsuccessfully for election as a Liberal party candidate. Despite requirements under the Local Government Act she left the inexperienced Deputy Mayor Sally Doyle in charge of the general manager recruitment panel.
Dropping the ball is always excusable but Mayor Enders didn’t pick it up when she returned after being unsuccessful at the ballot box. Many feel that Mayor Enders simply tried to use her position as a stepping stone to higher office and, when unsuccessful, lost interest in her role as mayor of the Huon Valley.
Despite the mayor being back there was no effective leadership and the recruitment panel then ignored legal advice and pleas from the community. In the words of the Auditor General, “Council decided to proceed with the recruitment despite knowing, after receipt of the report from its Legal Adviser, that the process lacked integrity.” After that Mayor Enders did nothing to restore confidence in council’s integrity by continually refusing reasonable requests for relevant information.
The Huon Valley community now find itself with a depleted and divided council.
On top of all the rest, allegations are now surfacing of insulting and inappropriate texts being sent by a councillor during council meetings and bullying. It’s hard not to think back to 2016 when HVC was sacked and wonder how it came to this – so soon.
How did HVC get into this mess?
The simple answer is that Mayor Enders and the majority of councillors did not respond to community concerns and did not heed their own Legal Advisers when making what was the by far most important decision of their term as councillors. A decision that outlives their term and impacts on the functioning of council from top to bottom.
The Minister for Local Government (at the time Roger Jaensch) claimed that he could not intervene in the faulty recruitment process – despite being aware of it at the time. This would indicate that either he was reluctant to get involved or the Local Government Act itself is flawed. Hopefully the “Future of Local Government” review that is currently underway and chaired by Sue Smith will make useful recommendations that are then promptly acted on.
The underlying question is why did Huon Valley councillors act as they did?
There have been a number of excuses offered up including naivety, ignorance, inexperience and lack of understanding of conflict of interest. There are other theories that have been put forward but you are unlikely see them in print. In the words of the Integrity Commission ‘it is not in the public interest for the Commission to further investigate these matters’ and that the people involved ‘were not public officers at the time’. Of course the Tasmanian Integrity Commission has very limited powers compared to an independent ICAC or similar that can actually demand answers about anything in the public domain that is perceived to be less than transparent and accountable. This capacity frightens many politicians.
Perhaps it is time for TICAC – but it will only happen if the Tasmanian community demands it.
_______________________________________
19 March 2022
General Manager Jason Browne’s appointment confirmed and Mayor Bec Enders resigns
At the special closed HVC meeting on the 16th the appointment of the general manager was confirmed despite the controversy surrounding the flawed selection process.
Then on the 18th comes the announcement that that Mayor Enders has resigned – effective immediately. No reason given.
Before they met in closed council on the 16th to consider Jason Browne’s appointment HVRRA wrote to all councillors.
Dear Councillors
As you know HVRRA wrote to you before you appointed Jason Browne as General Manager. We pointed out that the recruitment process lacked integrity and that, among other things, this had the potential of bringing HVC into disrepute.
Since then the Auditor General has reported that the recruitment process was fundamentally flawed.
Many in the community, and among them many HVC employees, do not have confidence in Mr Browne’s integrity and he has done little in the last 6 months to show that he is a leader that inspires confidence.
We assume that the GM’s performance review will be an objective assessment against the key responsibilities of the position, and that these key responsibilities align with the selection criteria for the recruitment. We understand that the selection criteria included:
- Demonstrated management experience at an executive level with strong leadership skills that facilitate a high performing and service driven organisation.
- Demonstrated understanding of good governance, the role of community consultation and a demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement.
Good leadership demands trust and respect.
Leadership is also about setting an example.
Anyone with management experience at an executive level, with strong leadership skills together with an understanding of good governance, would recognise immediately the conflict of interest created by applying for a position for which their partner is the recruitment consultant.
- If he had strong leadership skills he would have declared the conflict when he submitted his application and would have urged his partner to ensure that this was declared in a timely manner.
- If he had strong leadership skills he would have known that to do otherwise would have put him in an untenable position.
- If he had strong leadership skills he would have taken the lead on this declaration of conflict of interest and not taken advantage of the opportunity offered by the naivety of the recruitment panel.
Of all levels of government, local government is the one in which conflict of interest and the potential for unfair pecuniary benefit is most likely to arise because of the focus on service delivery at a local level and frequent use of locally based contractors.
- By not declaring the conflict of interest he has demonstrated that he has little understanding of good governance.
- By not declaring the conflict of interest he has undermined any opportunity in the role of General Manager to model the organisational expectations for good governance.
- By not declaring the conflict of interest he has signalled that good governance doesn’t matter if you can get away with it.
Since Mr Browne took up his position as GM a new Director of Environment & Development Services has not been appointed to replace Luke Chiu.
Lachlan Kranz is acting in the role but, given his other responsibilities, he cannot devote his entire attention to this extremely important work at this critical time while the HVC LPS are being incorporated into the Tasmanian Planning Scheme.
This would appear to indicate that the General Manager does not fully appreciate the importance of HVC’s role as a Planning Authority.
In HVRRA’s estimation Council has no alternative – his contract must be terminated.
He is clearly not up to the job.
HVRRA recognises that you find yourselves in a difficult situation but you have now had advice from the Auditor General and the appropriate training. You are in a far better position to understand the mistakes that were made and should now recognise that the outcome is irrevocably tainted and that to do otherwise risks bringing council into further disrepute.
The Mayor has called for a ‘line in the sand’ to be drawn under this episode and you now have the opportunity to draw that line in something far more durable than sand.
We urge you to consider what is best for the Huon Valley community, what is best for the future of Huon Valley Council staff and as an organisation, and your own reputation as Councillors.
Yours sincerely, Patrick Synge (HVRRA Public Officer)
————————————–
9 March 2022
22 February 2022
How you can help shape the Huon Valley
- Has your property been zoned correctly in the new Planning Scheme?
- Has a place you care about been zoned appropriately?
- You have one chance to have a say – and that is now.
Submissions to the Local Provisions Schedule for the new Tasmanian Planning Scheme must be sent to Council by March 30.
If you think that your property is being zoned incorrectly or that your local area needs special consideration then now is the time to do something about it. Making zone changes after the new Planning Scheme comes in will be expensive and difficult.
To get a zone change you must have good planning reasons. Some links to help to navigate the process are provided below.
- To find out how your property or an area is being zoned check here
https://planning.discovercommunities.com.au/connect/analyst/mobile/#/main?mapcfg=huonvalley
- To find out what is in the detail for the various zones and codes check here
https://planningreform.tas.gov.au/planning/scheme
- If you think that your property or a local area is wrongly zoned and should be changed then you can check on whether you might have a case here
At this point you can start writing your submission.
However, this can all seem to be a bit complicated. To help you navigate the process it helps to get professional planning advice as early as you can.
_______________________________________________________
January 26 2022
January 17th 2022
Submission from the Huon Valley Residents and Ratepayers Association (Inc) to HVC public meeting concerning the recruitment of the General Manager
It is now beyond doubt that Huon Valley Councillors conducted a deeply flawed general manager recruitment process. The extent of the failure of governance and the serious consequences to public confidence in the highest level of the council executive was confirmed by the Auditor General who stated that it was a ‘flawed recruitment process as the potential for bias and unfair treatment of applicants was significant throughout the process. In addition, the process undermined the public confidence required in an appointment as significant as the general manager of Council’
The question remains whether the failure was caused by a lack of appropriate attention to good governance by council or whether it was a deliberate attempt to subvert the selection process. The defensive and obfuscating way council has acted since the declaration of conflict of interest by the recruitment consultant means that neither can yet be dismissed.
When the Director of Local Government asked Huon Valley Council to commission an independent review of the process why did council use a person with a history of providing legal advice in defence of council?
Council engaged the law firm Edge Legal whose co-founder and director was lead author of the 2016 Page Seager report prepared as council’s defence during the 2016 Board of Inquiry. The choice of legal adviser clearly had the potential to undermine any perception of independence.
It has never been adequately explained why Huon Valley councillors ignored all the warnings and went ahead with the appointment despite knowing that the process was deeply flawed, intrinsically unethical and would bring the council into disrepute. The media coverage here in Tasmania and interstate gave the impression that our councillors were, at best, incompetent and, at worst, corrupt.
Before confirming the general manager’s appointment councillors had received the Edge Legal report telling them that the process had been faulty. One of the recruitment panel members, Cr Campbell, had already resigned from the panel because her colleagues refused to respond appropriately to her concerns about the serious nature of the conflict of interest.
We, Huon Valley Residents and Ratepayers Association, had also written to all councillors asking them to act responsibly in this matter. We pointed out that to make this important appointment under such a cloud of conflict of interest would undermine not only the community’s confidence in council but also council staff’s confidence in the general manager. We also pointed out that to do so would bring council into disrepute. We know that other individuals also contacted councillors expressing their concerns.
It has never been adequately explained why complete information on the decisions leading up to the flawed process and council’s legal advice (The Edge Legal Report) has not been made public. The Mayor has stated that if we knew all the background we would better understand. We invite her to explain so that we can move forward.
The Edge Legal report, which cost ratepayers over $18,000, has never been released for public consideration. Yes, we have had access to a summary of it but even that contains some comments that appear to be more consistent with a character reference for the recruitment consultant than a legal opinion.
The report states that ‘council’s appointment of the recruitment agency, a highly credentialed executive recruitment agency in Tasmania was appropriate in the circumstances’
The recruitment agency, Red Giant, appears to be a one person operation with Joanne Inches being that person. Her Linkedin page records under ‘Education’ that she participated in a Company Directors Course in 2014. No qualifications whatsoever are required to undertake a training course with the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
So why did Edge Legal state that the recruitment agent is ‘highly credentialed’?
The publicly available version of Edge Legal’s opinion goes on to say that ‘councillors selected their preferred candidate following a process recommended by the recruitment agency and free from any influence or bias created by the recruitment agency.
Edge Legal provides no evidence whatsoever that that the process was free from influence or bias. Despite being in breach of her own company policy, Joanne Inches did not disclose her significant conflict of interest for 59 days after her partner applied for the job and during that period created a short list of 14 candidates from 85 applicants. As far as we know only Ms Inches knows anything about the other 71 applicants or why they were rejected.
Edge Legal goes on to say that ‘the late disclosure by the recruitment agency would have made it undesirable to remove the recruitment agency from the process at a late stage’ but, again, does not explain how it comes to this conclusion.
What is desirable about
- bringing council into disrepute?
- attracting negative media coverage around Australia?
- having to pay for yet more legal advice and councillor training?
- having a new general manager starting under such a dark cloud?
Mayor Enders has frequently mentioned that the council-commissioned report claims that their management of the issue did not breach the Code of Conduct.
Again, this is no more than an opinion that has not been tested and is not supported by any evidence.
In a media release on the 30th September Mayor Enders said ‘in order to restore public confidence in Council’s recruitment processes, Council has agreed to the report’s recommendations that it implement a guideline or supporting document to the Code of Conduct as a best practice approach to managing conflicts of interest in recruitment, and further, that Councillors undertake training in relation to managing conflicts of interest.’
In the publicly released version of the Edge Legal report there is no mention of these recommendations and when we asked, at the November council meeting, why the recommendations had been redacted from the report Mayor Enders stated that they hadn’t been. And yet they are nowhere to be found in the publicly available summary released by council.
Either they were redacted or they were simply not in the report in the first place – you can’t have it both ways.
The classic response when found guilty of poor behaviour in politics and elsewhere is to claim that ‘It was an unfortunate error but lessons have been learned. Training will be undertaken and procedures put in place to ensure that it cannot happen again’ and, sure enough, this is what Huon Valley ratepayers have been told.
This might be acceptable if warnings had not been made beforehand and councillors could claim ignorance but it is not acceptable to blatantly ignore all warnings and then claim that you did not know. Especially when this comes from a Mayor who, when campaigning for election, claimed a wealth of experience in administration and leadership and repeatedly committed to transparency and accountability.
In the same media release Mayor Enders stated that ‘While we recognise the community may want to see the whole report, due to confidentiality and privacy obligations, as well as potential defamation, Council is unable to release the full report following legal advice in relation to what can be confidently released without creating further issues for the council.’
When she says that it may create ‘further issues for the council’ does she perhaps mean that it might create ‘further issues‘ for her and/or other councillors who were members of the recruitment panel?
What Mayor Enders refers to as a ‘redacted’ version is actually a summary of the report.
Redacted reports normally show the entire report with any redacted sections blacked out. This gives the reader some indication of how much of a document has been redacted and some of the context. What we have actually been presented with is a dot-point summary of a report that cost us over $18,000.
The questions therefore arise:
- Is Council’s refusal to release the entire document justified or not?
- Are the recommendations ‘that it implement a guideline or supporting document to the Code of Conduct as a best practice approach to managing conflicts of interest in recruitment, and further, that Councillors undertake training in relation to managing conflicts of interest’ part of the report and, if so why were they redacted?
- What other information is included in the report?
The Huon Valley Residents & Ratepayers Association moves:
- that Huon Valley Council release the Edge Legal report in its entirety and, if independent legal advice confirms that portions have to be redacted, these should be shown in blacked out form.
- that Mayor Enders release all the facts that she claims would lead to a better understanding of why councillors ignored the warnings from Edge Legal, HVRRA and other concerned ratepayers.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
NOVEMBER 26, 2021
Q&A
HVRRA’s question to the Mayor at HVC meeting 24 November 2021.
HVRRA: Our question relates to the Legal and General Report Agenda Item 15.030/21 ‘Implementation of the General Manager Recruitment Review Recommendations’ (page 13 of the agenda)
Having already spent around $25,000 on attempting to manage the flawed GM recruitment process Council is now considering spending more than another $20,000 of ratepayers’ money to train councillors who will be 80% through their term at that stage. Councillors who may not even be candidates for re-election let alone succeed.
The Auditor General’s report recommended that: ‘Council review and improve the recruitment and appointment process by developing guidance and implementing a process whereby those involved in a recruitment process: declare conflicts of interest, or lack thereof, once applicants are known, implement management strategies that are commensurate with the nature and extent of the conflict ‘
Nowhere does the Auditor General’s report recommend engaging consultants to train councillors who are near the end of their term of office.
The publicly available, ‘redacted’ version, of the council commissioned Edge Legal report makes no mention of a recommendation that councillors undertake further training. If included in the original report it must have been redacted. The recommendation for training does not appear to fall within the reasons given for redacting from the report i.e to protect Council from ‘breaches of confidentiality, privacy and possibly defamation’.
One can only wonder what else was redacted.
We are talking about ‘Governance 101’ here. The basic stuff. The kind of training that should, and probably was, undertaken during councillor induction in 2018.
All the required information is available at the click of a mouse and the Integrity Commission can provide advice if any elected representative is having trouble understanding it. Training and education is a core role of the Integrity Commission. As taxpayers, we already pay for it to do this.
So our question is in two parts:
1 If the report from Edge Legal recommended that Councillors undertake training in relation to managing conflicts of interest why was the this recommendation not included in the redacted version of the report that was made public by council? Alternatively, if Edge Legal did not recommend further training why has the proposed further training and expense been presented to the public as though it were a recommendation from an independent report?
2 Bearing in front of mind that Council’s Code of Conduct states that ‘Local Government should implement decisions and follow processes that make the best use of the available people, resources and time, to ensure the best possible results for the community’ and, knowing that the Minister has instructed the Director of Local Government to prepare a Ministerial Order relating specifically to GM recruitment issues, why is council now considering spending tens of thousands of ratepayers’ dollars engaging consultants to develop guidelines that may well be included in the Ministerial Order and to provide basic training to councillors who are nearing the end of their term of office when all the required information is readily available and the publicly funded Integrity Commission and the Director of Local Government are able to provide further advice if needed?
TRANSCRIPT OF THE RESPONSE
MAYOR – OK, on the meeting of the 15th of September, which was a special meeting of Council, there was a motion that was put forward to the councillors to undertake the training as part of the recommendations that were made identifying that there were certain parts that were identified in the Edge Legal report that would assist the council.
HVRRA – That were redacted.
MAYOR – No, they weren’t redacted. But I’m going to have to go to the internet to have a look at the actual report if that’s all right.
HVRRA – It’s not necessary to do that now.
MAYOR – So, it was a formal decision of Council, the Director of Local Government was supportive of that occurring. And I consulted with the Director of Local Government about who I should speak to, who would be appropriate person, which was the CEO of the Local Government Association of Tasmania to identify appropriate trainers that would meet what the Auditor General’s expectations would be and the Director of Local Government’s expectations would be.
There was no discussion about delaying that. It was clearly a matter that was of concern from the Director of Local Government with community interest, etc, that this council didn’t continue for the next 12 months without resolving those issues that had been brought forward through identification in the Edge Legal report. And more so in the Auditor General’s report. And I know you’ve read the Auditor General’s report.
HVRRA – But he doesn’t recommend any training. And it’ll only be eight months by the time the training is undertaken virtually at the end of the term. But as you said, there’s no debate. So I’m not going to start debating this.
MAYOR – What the the matters you’ve raised. I’m sure other councillors have considered as in the term of this council, what the expectations are of the Director of Local Government, what the expectations are, because the commitments been made to the community as well, very publicly about undertaking the training, about making sure the documentation is updated. And which includes training about committees as well. It’s quite broad, as you know, from reading the report about the expression of interest. And I’m sure all the councillors here are considering that but also about any future Council that’s to be elected to ensure that as it has also been publicly stated, that no other council finds themselves in this exact position again in future at the Valley Council.
HVRRA -This was all approved prior to the Ministerial Order.
MAYOR – So the Huon Valley Council, sorry. So the Huon Valley Resident and Ratepayers Association acknowledge your your introduction, your question, and I’m sure councils will consider that tonight. Yes, thank you.
HVRRA – It should be pointed out that this was prior to the Ministerial Order, the recommendation.
Q&A AS RECORDED IN THE HVC DRAFT MINUTES
3 Questions Without Notice
Public Gallery:
Huon Valley Residents and Ratepayers Association –
Our question relates to the Legal and General Report Agenda Item 15.030/21
‘Implementation of the General Manager Recruitment Review Recommendations’
(page 13 of the agenda).
If the report from Edge Legal recommended that Councillors undertake training in
relation to managing conflicts of interest why was the recommendation not included
in the redacted version of the report that was made public by council and,
alternatively, if Edge Legal did not recommend further training, why has the proposed
further training and expense been presented to the public as though it were a
recommendation from an independent report?
Response:
Mayor Enders stated that at the Special Council Meeting on 15 September 2021
a motion was put forward to all Councillors to undertake training as part of the
recommendations made identifying certain parts in the Edge Legal report that
would assist Council. A formal decision of Council was made. The Director of
Local Government was supportive of this occurring. The Mayor advised she
Minutes- Huon Valley Council Ordinary Meeting 24 November 2021 Page 839
consulted with the Director of Local Government and he suggested the CEO of
Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT) could assist with
identifying appropriate trainers to meet the Auditor Generals and the Director
of Local Government’s expectations.
There was no discussion about delaying this training and was clearly a matter
that was of concern from the Director of Local Government with local
community interest that this Council did not continue for the next twelve
months without resolving those issue that had been identified through the
Edge Legal report and more so in the Auditor General’s report.
A commitment has been made very publicly to the community about
undertaking the training and making sure the documentation is updated.
FOR THE RECORD
There was no recommendation about training of councillors in the version of the Edge Legal report that HVC released to the public.
OCTOBER 15 2021
The Auditor General has released his report into the Huon Valley Council’s recruitment of the new general manager.
It is available here https://www.audit.tas.gov.au/publication/council-gm-recruitment-appointment-and-performance-assessment/
Despite the very limited scope of his review, the report makes it clear that the recruitment process lacked integrity. The most relevant information starts at page 30.
HVRRA considers that the recruitment process was flawed from start to finish.
The Auditor General came to the following conclusion:
• the Panel’s consideration of the conflict of interest in the recruitment process did
not demonstrate an understanding of the significance of the Consultant’s reported
conflict of interest and pecuniary interest
• the Panel accepted the Consultant’s suggested approach to managing the
Consultant’s conflict and did not seek to appropriately mitigate the risk that
emerged as a result of that decision
• Council decided to proceed with the recruitment despite knowing, after receipt of
the report from its Legal Adviser, that the process lacked integrity.
“These matters cause me to believe the Council’s approach to managing conflict of interest during the recruitment process to appoint a general manager was not effective.”
Here is the timeline as provided in the report
The Auditor General’s report makes it clear that it was a ‘Limited Assurance Report’ and that he did not investigate whether there was any misconduct or corruption.
The report raises almost as many questions as it provides answers.
Mayor Enders asked to meet with the HVRRA committee and then didn’t attend
We would have liked to ask her:
- Why rush ahead with the appointment of the new GM? Why not wait for the external legal advice that the Director of Local Government had already asked you to obtain? As Chair of the Recruitment Panel you knew there was a serious conflict of interest involved and yet you went ahead regardless. There was no hurry and Edge Legal was quick to tell you that the process lacked integrity.
- Why did the Recruitment Panel not consult Integrity Commission Tasmania when faced with this serious conflict of interest issue? All the required information is on their website: free of charge at the click of a mouse.
- Why did the Panel not consult HVC’s Fraud Control and Corruption Prevention Procedure (2015) when it became clear that the contracted Recruitment Consultant was unable to fulfill her contract with integrity? Council has a policy that outlines exactly what to do if contractors do not fulfill their contract.
- Why did you apparently not recognise that making this appointment in these circumstances would bring Huon Valley Council into disrepute? Media interest has ranged far and wide and none of it has shown HVC in a good light.
In response to the Auditor General’s report, Mayor Enders has committed to ensuring that further training of councillors is undertaken in relation to Conflict of Interest.
Under provisions in the Integrity Commission Act she was responsible for ensuring that councillors had already received this training at the beginning of their term of office. If they did undertake such training it wasn’t very effective.
OCTOBER 1 2021
At the September 29 meeting of council HVRRA posed the following questions:
Our questions relate to Agenda item 16.011/21 (The Review of Fraud Control and Corruption Prevention Policy and Procedure) and the Departmental Report 20.066/21 relating to the Independent Review of General Manager Recruitment Process – Legal Advice on Release of Information that is to be considered in closed council. Given that Edge Legal Pty Ltd was only registered in December of last year our questions are:
Question 1 How often over the last ten years has Mr Rod Collinson, the co-founder and director of Edge Legal, provided legal advice to HVC in any capacity and is this the same Rod Collinson who prepared the Page Seager report that the then Council commissioned in 2016 in response to the Draft Report from the Board of Inquiry?
Answer 1 : Mr Collinson was previously a partner with Page Seager.
Page Seager were engaged by Council to prepare responses on behalf of the Council in relation to the Draft Report from the Board of Inquiry.
As to the number of times over the past 10 years that Mr Collinson has provided legal advice to Council in any capacity, there was insufficient time to review all Council files to ascertain this information for tonight’s meeting.
However, what I can confirm is Mr Collinson left Page Seager Lawyers at the time Edge Legal was established on 1 July 2018.
Mr Collinson has confirmed that until being engaged to undertake the independent review by the Acting General Manager on 3 September 2021, Edge Legal had not previously provided any legal services to the Huon Valley Council.
It is Mr Collinson’s recollection that the last time he personally provided any legal services to the Council was when he was working at Page Seager in around 2016, he provided assistance to the Council in preparing responses in relation to the Board of Inquiry Report.
As a point of clarification, the Council delegated the securing of the independent review of the general manager recruitment process to the Acting General Manager.
The Acting General Manager (Paul West) appointed Edge Legal based on the fact they were a Hobart based law firm which specialised in the discreet areas of employment and safety law.
The Acting General Manager (Paul West) in appointing Edge Legal (Mr Collinson) had no knowledge of any past involvement he may have had with Huon Valley Council.
Question 2 Does the Mayor maintain that all Council’s actions in recruiting the new General Manager are in accordance with HVC’s Fraud Control & Corruption Control Policy and Procedure that stipulates, among other things, that Council has “a responsibility to act with integrity and not engage in activities that damage the Council’s good standing” ?
Answer 2: Council accepts with the benefit of hindsight that the management of the conflict of interest in relation to the recruitment of the new General Manager was deficient and fell below expected standards.
Council is committed to improving its processes by developing and implementing guidelines to support its Code of Conduct in respect to identifying and managing conflicts of interest.
These answers raise new questions about Edge Legal’s ADVICE to HVC
QUESTION – If council delegated ‘the securing of the independent review of the general manager recruitment process to the Acting General Manager‘ why did the acting general manager not ask HVC’s Director of Legal and Governance whether Edge Legal could reasonably be considered ‘independent’?
QUESTION – Why did the acting general manager not seek an assurance from Edge Legal that its key personnel (ie co-founder and director Mr Rod Collinson) had not previously conducted work for HVC?
QUESTION – Edge Legal’s report states that ‘the late disclosure by the recruitment agency would have made it undesirable to remove the recruitment agency from the process at a late stage‘. Why does Edge Legal consider that this was ‘undesirable’ given the importance of the appointment and the fact that that there was no urgency?
QUESTION – Edge Legal’s report also states that ‘Each of the Councillors selected their preferred candidate following the process recommended by the recruitment agency and free from any influence or bias created by the recruitment agency.’ If councillors were following a process recommended by the conflicted recruitment agency how can Edge Legal maintain with any degree of certitude that this was free from any influence or bias created by the recruitment agency?
QUESTION – Edge Legal’s report states that ‘Council’s appointment of the recruitment agency, a reputable and highly credentialed executive recruitment agency in Tasmania, was appropriate in the circumstances.’ On what basis does Edge Legal assert that the Red Giant recruitment agency is a ‘highly credentialed recruitment agency‘ ?
As many of you would be aware Huon Valley Council met on the 25th September to finalise the appointment of the new General Manager Jason Browne despite having received and considered a report from its own external legal adviser that indicated that the recruitment process had been badly handled and lacked integrity.
HVRRA has significant concerns about the recruitment process and wrote to all councillors before the meeting at which this decision was made. Here is the letter.
Dear Councillors,
You will recall that I wrote to you on 24 August 2021 on behalf of the Huon Valley Residents and Ratepayers Association concerning allegations in the public arena of conflict of interest around the process for selecting a new General Manager.
We see that the process is the subject of Special Meeting of Council to be held this evening with two items related to the General Manager recruitment process (Independent Review of Process and Contract of Employment) to be dealt with in Closed Council.
We wish to re-emphasise that recruitment of a General Manager is likely to be the most important decision that you will make during this term of Council.
Under the Local Government Act responsibility for recruitment of a General Manager lies with the Mayor and Councillors. The Act includes leading and participating in the recruitment of the General Manager among the functions of the Mayor. Under the Act, Council collectively has the function of appointing the General Manager and the Act specifically states that Council must not delegate any of its powers relating to the appointment of the General Manager.
In making your decision on this matter we ask you to consider very carefully your responsibilities under the Local Government Act and to the residents and ratepayers you represent.
We ask you to consider the following:
- Are you certain the recruitment process meets the high standards of governance expected of a decision of this significance?
- Are you comfortable that there has been no actual conflict of interest in the recruitment process?
- Are you confident that the recruitment process will not undermine public confidence in council or bring council into disrepute?
- Are you certain there is no risk that a disaffected applicant could take legal action against Council on this matter?
- How have you personally verified that the short-lists provided by the recruitment agency genuinely included all the best applicants and were not manipulated to favour a particular applicant?
- Most importantly, could you look every resident and rate-payer in the eye and say with absolute certainty that the best applicant for the position was selected from the 85 applications received?
Please remember that as Mayor and as Councillors you are personally responsible for the decision you make in recruiting and appointing a General manager.
Notwithstanding any expert advice you may receive under section 65 of the Local Government Act, you cannot delegate the function of recruitment of a General Manager or your responsibility for ensuring good governance throughout the process.
Yours sincerely, Patrick Synge (President, HVRRA Inc )
August 24, 2021
OPEN LETTER TO HVC COUNCILLORS
Dear Councillors
As has been pointed out by many of you, and others in the community, the appointment of the new HVC General Manager is likely to be the most important decision that you will make during this term of Council.
As such the Huon Valley Residents and Ratepayers Association and the broader community expects all councillors to conduct responsible due diligence.
The HVRRA committee is aware of the article published in Tasmanian Times on Monday 23rd August https://www.tasmaniantimes.com/2021/08/flawed-general-manager-recruitment-process/ .
The issues raised in it are of a serious nature.
Before making your decision on this matter we ask you to answer each of the following questions:
- Have you read the article published in Tasmanian Times on Monday 23rd August? Yes/No
- Have all the CVs and interview responses of the last four short-listed candidates been provided by the General Manager Recruitment Panel (GMRP) to all councillors? Yes/No
- Were the deciding factors for the ultimate selection of one person from the 85 contenders, in your opinion, valid? Yes/No
- Is there any professional or personal link between the candidate recommended by the GMRP and the Red Giant recruitment agency that might make the appointment questionable, reflect badly on HVC and Councillors, and diminish the standing of the new General Manager from the outset? Yes/No
- Does the recommended candidate have substantial LG or other relevant experience that qualifies that person in particular for the position of GM? Yes/No
- Did one of the four members of the recruitment panel resign due to the perception of conflicts of interest? Yes/No
- Do the reasons provided to councillors for the resignation raise questions about the process to date? Yes/No
If you cannot answer these questions to your own satisfaction we consider that you are not yet in a position to make a responsible decision.HVRRA would very much appreciate any comments you might choose to offer.
Thank you, Pat Synge
(Public officer – Huon Valley Residents & Ratepayers Association (Inc)
JULY 22, 2021
The proposed changes to the Constitution were discussed at length and in some detail.
A number of amendments were made before being approved unanimously.
The General Meeting took place immediately after the AGM.
The good attendance and constructive discussion reaffirmed HVRRA’s relevance at a time when HVC is facing some uncertainty.
A number of issues were discussed including:
- The General Manager selection process in general and the reported breach of confidentiality.
- HVC financial management issues.
- The significant cash reserve ($13m) that is currently losing value in the bank while Council is selling land that is almost certainly appreciating in value.
- The rate rise of 4.95% (which is approximately 4 x inflation).
- Ongoing lack of transparency in some areas of operation.
- What appears to be continuing inappropriate use of Closed Council.
July 4, 2021
Annual General Meeting
7pm on Wednesday 21st July
at the Huon Valley Hub, 23 Main Street, Huonville
Special business: amendments to the HVRRA constitution
Proposed amendments: Draft amended constitution
July 2, 2021
FOR SOME MONTHS NOW COUNCIL HAS BEEN DRIFTING
Mayor Enders stood down in March to campaign (unsuccessfully) for election as a Liberal parliamentarian. She has now announced that she will not stand for re-election as a councillor and appears to have anointed the Deputy Mayor, Sally Doyle, as her successor.
Also in March the General Manager Emilio Reale resigned. This came as a surprise to many as he had just had his contract renewed.
Currently Andrew Wardlaw is the acting GM until a new GM is appointed.
The GM selection panel was elected in closed council (which HVRRA considers was quite inappropriate). It was then thrown into disarray when a member of the panel, Mike Wilson, had to stand down as a councillor. He became ineligible to be a councillor on a technicality.
Former Cr Wilson then publicly accused council of a vendetta against him. The Mayor, of course, refuted these claims. This is not a good look for any council. And especially for one that was recently sacked due to infighting and other poor behaviour.
Sue Clark has now replaced Mike Wilson as councillor and a new GM selection panel has just been elected consisting of, Mayor Enders, Deputy Mayor Sally Doyle, Cr Christine Campbell and Cr Mick Newell. This second election was held at a Special Meeting (this time open to public scrutiny) but it was conducted in an unprofessional manner that must have been confusing for some councillors.
Most councillors recognise that the appointment of the new GM is possibly the most important decision they will make during this term of council and we certainly wish them all success.
We understand that there were 49 applicants for the position though the Mayor has refused to give any figure despite this being normal practice for many recruitment agencies.
Rates have just risen by 4.95% which is more than 4 times the CPI and, despite this substantial rate hike, HVC is anticipating a deficit of around $400,000.
April 15, 2021
The role of General Manager is the single most important position on Council.
The GM “hires and fires” all staff, has extensive delegated powers, runs all the day to day operations and, effectively, controls the council agenda.
HVC has a history of employing General Managers that have close relationships within the Valley and/or with the Selection Panel. And this history has not been a good one.
Since amalgamation in 1993 we have seen all our GMs either arrive under a cloud or disappear into one. Variously they have resigned after being accused of bullying, been sacked, been appointed after having been caught bugging a Mayor’s office or, in the case of Emilio Reale, resigned with no real explanation soon after having had his 5 year contract renewed.
And what do they have in common? They have all been previously associated with members of the Selection Panel.
HVRRA strongly maintains that it would be preferable to appoint a General Manager that has no previous history with anyone in the Valley and, preferably, someone from outside Tasmania.
We all know that this is a small state and that there are linkages throughout. We recognise that it’s impossible to guarantee independence but if you select someone into this important role who already has local allegiances this is even less likely.
We hope that the Selection Panel will understand this and “do the right thing”.
July 15th 2020
Legislative Council elections 2020
We had hoped to hold a series of Q&A sessions around the Huon electorate in the lead up to the Legislative Council election on the 1st August but the Covid situation has made this impossible. Instead we are hosting an online Q&A with candidates. We will record it and make it available for streaming.
In some ways this will be more convenient for the many people who don’t go out much but would still like to actually hear from the candidates before voting. The sessions we held before the HVC elections in 2018 were well attended and very successful and by using this technology voters can watch it when it suits them best.
All six candidates have been invited to participate and we hope that they will all take advantage of this non-partisan opportunity to present themselves to the public.
We will give each candidate exactly the same opportunity to present themselves and answer questions that have been submitted by HVRRA members. The order of speaking for each question will be randomised using an online list generator and the speaking time will be strictly controlled to ensure that no individual candidate has an advantage. Depending on how many candidates participate the session should run for between 60 and 90 minutes.
It has been a difficult election campaign for the candidates with lockdown conditions followed by strict Covid prevention protocols preventing the usual door knocking and face to face opportunities.
Written candidate statements are useful but they’re carefully crafted and revised. It’s quite different from hearing and seeing a candidate answer live questions. The recording will be unedited so what you see will be exactly how it happened. Just like live TV.
The link for streaming the Q&A will be available here and on our Facebook page at Huon Valley Residents and Ratepayers as soon as possible after the Q&A which will probably be held next Wednesday (22nd July). We are still waiting for a response from some candidates.
August 8th 2019
Reform to the Local Government Act
The state government is currently undertaking a review of Tasmania’s local government legislation framework. This is currently at the Stage 2 phase with this Paper outlining the proposed reforms for consultation having been released.
190132_DPAC_Local_Government_Directions_wcag
Submissions are invited and should be submitted by COB, Monday 30th September.
For more information or to complete the survey visit www.dpac.tas.gov.au/lgreview
HVRRA is preparing a submission and we would welcome your input.
JUNE 30, 2019.
On June 26th HVC decided to sell the Cygnet Medical Centre despite considerable community disquiet about the proposal.
A petition with 144 signatures was lodged and 13 formal objections were submitted to council presenting a wide range of concerns. In the words of the author of the consultation report on the potential sale “None of these objections raised any issue relating to who owns and operates the building or whether there is a personal impact to (sic) the objectors if Council no longer owns the building” All questions raised by objectors were deemed not relevant because “it raises a question but does not provide any evidence or argument”.
Various arguments were made by the author of the report including emphasis of the fact that the population of Cygnet is only 1556 without any mention of the fact that the Medical Centre is the closest such facility for over 4200 people (over 25% of the population of the municipality).
The report was clearly biased in favour of the sale of the facility and, while it emphasised valid arguments for selling, it presented no case for retaining ownership despite there also being valid reasons for doing so.
It is understood that some relevant information was requested by councillors but withheld.
*************************************************
HVRRA policy
We maintain that:
- ratepayers are entitled to know why decisions are being made, what arguments are being presented and by whom at all stages of decision making.
- information provided to councillors should be factual, complete and unbiased.
- unless confidential matters are being discussed there is no valid reason for the public be excluded from workshops/briefing meetings.
- if workshops are to remain closed to the public the 2017 HVC Board of Inquiry’s Recommendation #23 should become formal HVC policy.
BoI Recommendation #23 – “Information discussed in voluntary workshops should, where relevant to a council decision, be disclosed at council meetings and contained in council meeting papers.”
15 July 2020
We had hoped to hold a series of Q&A sessions around the Huon electorate in the lead up to the Legislative Council election on the 1st August but the Covid situation has made this impossible. Instead we are hosting an online Q&A with candidates. We will record it and make it available for streaming.
In some ways this will be more convenient for the many people who don’t go out much but would still like to actually hear from the candidates before voting. The sessions we held before the HVC elections in 2018 were well attended and very successful and by using this technology voters can watch it when it suits them best.
All six candidates have been invited to participate and we hope that they will all take advantage of this non-partisan opportunity to present themselves to the public.
We will give each candidate exactly the same opportunity to present themselves and answer questions that have been submitted by HVRRA members. The order of speaking for each question will be randomised using an online list generator and the speaking time will be strictly controlled to ensure that no individual candidate has an advantage. Depending on how many candidates participate the session should run for between 60 and 90 minutes.
It has been a difficult election campaign for the candidates with lockdown conditions followed by strict Covid prevention protocols preventing the usual door knocking and face to face opportunities.
Written candidate statements are useful but they’re carefully crafted and revised. It’s quite different from hearing and seeing a candidate answer live questions. The recording will be unedited so what you see will be exactly how it happened. Just like live TV.
The link for streaming the Q&A will be available here and on our Facebook at Huon Valley as soon as possible after the Q&A which will probably be held next Wednesday (22nd July).
Huon Valley Residents & Ratepayers Association (Inc) 
