November 7, 2013
Secrecy & Sycophancy Writ Large!
Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Governance, GE Service Performance[16] Comments
[16] Comments
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Glen Eira Debates %d
November 8, 2013 at 6:55 AM
What a sad day for Glen Eira.
The decision not to advertise the position is appalling (not only because it is another case of decisions made without transparency or open discussion) – without advertising how the hell does Council know they have the best man for the job.
CEO Newton, was appointed, without advertising, around 2000 (he was previously Chief Financial Officer) and has been continually re-appointed to the position – always without advertising.
There are good reasons for the law providing regulation related to CEO length of tenure and appointment regulations. The CEO position is a prominent public position that wields significant influence within the municipality. There are strong arguments for advertising the position when it comes up for renewal, especially after this length of time. Yet Council continues to ignore them.
What is the problem with advertising the position and assessing the market before making a 5 year appointment?
November 8, 2013 at 9:14 AM
I see Andrew Newton has been given a new title in the media release—he is now mostly humbly “His Eminence”. No surprises that a media release written by somebody other than Council appears before the meeting Minutes do. Its all the shit that’s spouted without evidence that really gets up my nose—if he warrants being reappointed then the evidence should be made available. Instead we just get told by an acolyte, whose own position is dependent on Andrew’s, how wonderful he is. What did councillors really say in support of their decision? Closed meeting, no recording, no facts, just hearsay. Gets results? Let’s look at the fencing around Caulfield Racecourse precinct, or the height controls in our activity centres, or the piecemeal strategic planning, or the per-capita open space, or health of trees around GESAC, or the transparency of decision-making, or compliance with LGA, or judgement in pursuing speculative legal battles at great expense.
November 8, 2013 at 10:46 AM
Hyams might be “thrilled” but I doubt that anyone who knows anything about this council would be. The grovelling media release deserves to be torn to shreds because all it is doing is attempting to deflect previous questioning of councillors’ claims that Newton is the “best man for the job”. The tactic is then to provide a useless version of a CV that is short on facts and full of baseless generalisations. I’m really struck by the bit about “highest performing CEO”. That deserves a full chapter of commentary and if councillors honestly believe this guff then they should not be councillors. Under Newton we’ve had rate rises and more rate rises; legal battles that would make Rumpole blush; staff numbers going up and up and a drop in services; incompetent planning; infrastructure delays after delays; continual jobs for the boys; secrecy; the exclusion of community in all decisions and much more.
No reasonable person can or should ever accept that a job that is so important to thousands of residents has never been advertised. That smacks of either private deals, stupidity, or vested interests from various parties.
November 8, 2013 at 11:06 AM
Congratulations to my Municipality’s CEO on his re-appointment, All credit to Council on their decision and to those who doubt, drive around other municipalities and note the lousy old Infrastructure they have compared to us.
November 8, 2013 at 1:20 PM
HaHaHa, obviously said with tongue firmly planted in ones cheek!
November 8, 2013 at 12:39 PM
Glen Eira has had over ten years of dysfunctional councillors, one lot even being sacked by the state government, yet the city looks great and the level of services has increased ever year. The CEO has been recognised as one of the top CEO’s in the country. Thank you Mr Newton and congratulations.
November 8, 2013 at 1:59 PM
Perhaps you could let us in on the secret and name one service that has improved in the last 5 years or the cost hasn’t gone up ridiculously
November 8, 2013 at 2:11 PM
Read the latest annual report.
November 8, 2013 at 4:02 PM
I haven’t read it from start to finish but all the red stars tell me what’s not been done and they are pretty important developments. Anyway, I don’t put much stock in these things. They are meant to show how wonderful the council is and hide all the things that they want to keep hidden. The only thing that’s gone up and up is the staff numbers and I still think services have gone down and down.
November 8, 2013 at 8:03 PM
More evidence of why Local Government is no longer relevant in Australia. I can’t even get my street cleaned and the road is shit. What else do I get for my rates?
November 8, 2013 at 8:22 PM
You get Newton and 1300 staff at the cost of $65 million and that doesn’t take into account all the over-paid hired consultants all working to Newton and Burke’s instructions. Don’t forget the lawyers too.
November 8, 2013 at 8:36 PM
Let’s face it, if Glen Eira Councillors said enough was enough, Newton would not get a job anywhere else. Fact. He would be forced into retirement with his brother Stephen. That is not the sign of a top CEO.
November 8, 2013 at 9:54 PM
I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that someone can go down the scale as Newton has. Commonwealth, to State, and now the backwaters of Glen Eira. You’re right Viewfromahill, there’s nothing left after local politics.
Then again, if he was such a hotshot then why end up in Glen Eira? Did he leave these other places willingly or was he forced to because folks got wind of his style? Anyone know? But I guess $355,000 isn’t bad for a downgrade. Better to be a big fish in a stinking pond than a minnow in the great big ocean of federal politics.
November 8, 2013 at 5:44 PM
Newton’s greatest achievements are listed in the media release as heading the consultation on the new residential zones and Gesac. I find it quite ironic that both of these examples represent everything that is wrong with this council and its leadership.
The residential zones implementation was the worst example of sheer arrogance and yes, collusion, that has happened. When a council believes it can ram through something that will affect every single resident without one word of warning and without an ounce of consultation, then that council is damned. Since councillors have seen fit to extend this repressive tenure, then they must be held accountable.
On gesac itself it has been a fiasco right from the start. Millions spent on parking extensions and lawyers and this is still far from finished I would think. It has also meant that for the first time in history Glen Eira is in hock up to its neck. Both of these examples are not something that Newton should be proud of and as ceo he must take the full responsibility. Ultimately it has cost ratepayers a fortune and meant the delay of other vital infrastructure and social services.
I won’t even go onto the area of governance, inclusiveness, and general respect for residents. Newton has created a fiefdom that does no favours to the community.
November 8, 2013 at 7:04 PM
Newton’s a dud just as are those Councillors who voted for him. God help Glen Eira.
November 9, 2013 at 5:27 PM
As of Saturday afternoon the Minutes of the meeting still haven’t been published. I was soooo looking forward to reading the summary of information Council relied upon in making its decision to reappoint His Eminence, and what the agreed Key Performance Indicators and related metrics are for his next 5 years. Would be fascinating to know what they were for his previous terms too, but Council is determined we’ll never know. I suspect they’re all woolly fluff, to match the Media Release, and have little relevance to the matters listed in LGA.