GE Governance

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November 26, 2010

Lipshutz: Conflict of Interest

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Governance
[15] Comments 

The following public question was directed to Lipshutz. It relates to the Frisbee Affair, which we have previously reported upon. To refresh readers’ memories the issues revolve around:

  • An ‘unauthorised sporting group’ regularly playing Frisbee without a permit
  • Lipshutz’s son is/was one of the Frisbee players
  • This Frisbee group has never been fined in contrast to a social soccer group and one of its members
  • The soccer group has repeatedly asked public questions as to why there does not appear to be equal treatment for all and concludes that this is because of both Tang and Lipshutz’s ‘relationships’ with the Frisbee group

The question asked Lipshutz whether he had written the following, obtained under FOI  –

“My son has reported that he and his friends were approached by a Council officer on Friday and warned off playing Frisbee in Caulfield Park (the Lacrosse oval). I am advised that there is a regular Friday afternoon Frisbee game which is not organised and basically anyone can turn up. I consider it a bit rich to prevent a bunch of kids playing Frisbee. My son says that they play on that oval as all the other ovals are being used for cricket. Could you please look into this for me. Were the matter to be reported in The Leader I think we would look a little ridiculous.” (our emphases) 

The answer was ‘yes’!!!!!!!

Readers may also find it interesting that the Local Government Act, 1989 specifically states under Section 76E –

 “A councillor must not improperly direct, or improperly influence, or seek to improperly direct or improperly influence, a member of Council Staff in the exercise of any power or in the performance of any duty or function by the member.”

 

 

November 24, 2010

The Secrets of Magee?

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Governance
[6] Comments 

It seems that at last night’s Council meeting, Jim Magee may have inadvertently let the cat out of the bag, and thereby provided the community with solid evidence that decisions are not made in open council, but behind the closed doors of Assembly of councillors, briefing meetings, or perhaps even little tete a tetes between certain councillors and administrators. We have also learnt that Jim Magee almost religiously spends two hours each morning sitting in directors’ offices and having what we presume is a ‘pow-wow’. Nothing wrong with this, of course, but it all depends on what is being discussed.

Last night when moving the motion on the Coatesville tennis club ‘renovations’ Magee informed council that the tennis club was merely making some additions such as ‘renovation to their toilets’ since they had been trying to get a program for disabled players up and running and that this was the first stage to accommodate that. Magee then went on to state that the club also intends

“to put in some new courts which council has already agreed to help them…and also by giving over the land adjacent to the tennis courts, council land,…increase the footprint of the tennis courts ..and in return council will pick up the two tennis courts now in Mackie reserve. …. the club has been informed this week that the state government will be looking very favourably on matching council’s contribution …so I recommend this as a first step to our colleagues…..”

Readers should note the following:

  1. Officers’ reports on this Agenda Item contain no mention of this ‘land swap’; nor do they contain information about the ‘enlarged footprint’.
  2. In camera items for the past year contain no reference to this ‘land swap; – hence if it was discussed as an in camera item, then Magee is breaking this confidentiality it seems. If discussed as part of an Assembly of Councillors, then why is Magee speaking as if a DECISION has already been made? Assembly of councillors are expressly forbidden to make decisions that should come before Council.
  3. The Local Govt Act requires that all sale OR EXCHANGE OF LAND be announced via public notice and that Section 223 apply.
  4. The 2010/11 budget contain no mention of any ‘council contribution’ or notation that ‘council has already agreed to help them’ financially.
  5. So, where, when and by whom was this decision to EXCHANGE LAND made? Where, when and by whom was the decision made TO HELP the club?

Please note we are not arguing the validity or otherwise of this tennis club’s case. What we are questioning again and again are the fundamental issues of GOVERNANCE, CORRECT PROCESS AND TRANSPARENCY. We welcome Jim Magee’s response to these questions!

 

November 22, 2010

Whiteside

Posted by gleneira under GE Governance
[2] Comments 

Today’s Melbourne Bayside Weekly –

Whiteside went out swinging

Former deputy mayor Helen Whiteside’s resignation letter has finally been made public after being suppressed by Glen Eira councillors. In her three-page letter, Mrs Whiteside, who resigned on July 31, expresses her dismay at Glen Eira Council. She writes about her desire to find out why the cost of reappointing chief executive Andrew Newton soared from $6500 to $44,000. ‘‘My request to be provided with all documents in relation to the process has been denied by both the lawyer and the council … As a consequence of my position on these and other matters some councillors have stopped communicating with me except in formal council meetings.’’

 

November 21, 2010

A Resident’s View

Posted by gleneira under GE Governance
1 Comment 

We received  the following email and it is printed below –

Some items of particular interest are: 
 
9.9   Fraud and Corruption Policy (This seeks to stop councillors from discussing fraud cases,  EVEN AFTER a case is proven in court. (and so already in the public domain).   
 
9.14 Racecourse Committee 
        1. The committee, as envisaged, is a blatant abuse of democratic process.
        2. It removes the rights of the majority of councillors from making decisions about the biggest single
            public asset in Glen Eira. Five Councillors, those who are not members of the committee, will have their
            rights to represent the Community of Glen Eira, completed removed. This is in breach of the
            provisions of the Local Government Act 1989 for transparency and accountability.
        3. It guarantees that everything will remain secret and under wraps, regardless of the public interest.
        4. It prevents a number of councillors from representing the community view, under the guise of potential
            ‘conflict of interest’
       .5..Members of the general public have no rights, and have no guarantees of access to the 
            committee meetings, for non-confidential items, unlike Council meetings which are – by law – held with
            open doors. . 
 
9.15 Council’s Response to Inspectorate (written by Peter Jones, Acting CEO
Briefly, this typical, sham ‘response’ to the inspectorate report,. is offered by Mr. Jones.
 
    1.  Mr. Jones wants councillors to conduct all their business using the official (ie ‘wire-tapped’) council email addresses. This is supposedly to ‘ensure all business communications are open and auditable’. Next we expect, the staff will want all conversations between councillors and ratepayers tape recorded as well..
 
   2.  Committee meetings (but apparently not the existing councillor, or council staff, committee meetings), should (in the future) have accurate recording of meetings. Apparently Mr. Newton’s administration has failed again. Why don’t they already have ‘accurate recordings’?  All decisions are supposed to be accurately minuted, by law. All other normal councils manage to do this, so what’s wrong with Glen Eira?
 
 3.  Peter Jones advises that councillors should not provide ‘unauthorized opinion on behalf of the council’.
Mr.Jones, they don’t. No Councillor can provide opinion on behalf of Council. That is the Mayors job, if she/he is up to it. Read your own Council Local Law, Mr. Jones..
 
This is all just tedious, kindergarten stuff. I am glad I am not a councilor. 
 
 

November 19, 2010

Censorship in Full Flight?

Posted by gleneira under GE Council Meeting(s), GE Governance
[2] Comments 

Ah, looks like Glen Eira Debates is making an impact when we compare the Assembly of Councillors ‘records’ over the past few agendas and the current one. If detail was skimpy before, it is now almost non-existent.  A curt sentence of about 5 words is all the community can now expect. Yet, the censors can’t eliminate all data and those grudgingly made ‘subject listings’ provide further room for speculation. We’re very curious about the following:

  • A Pools Steering Committee that discusses ‘assembly of councillors’. Is it their business?
  • The 26th October Assembly of councillors which discussed ‘records of assembly’!!!!!
  • A revisiting of the October 12th records of assembly. Was this to curtail such expansive ‘minutes’ as “Exchanges between councillors in the Council Chamber and through emails’ – especially when Lobo wanted this relabelled as ‘racism’? Or could it be the somewhat embarrassing notation as: ‘Can councillors be reimbursed for legal costs incurred as a result of the Municipal Inspection’? Or even the ‘untouchable’ such as “CEO appraisal by council’. We can only conclude that councillors and/or administrators were not too happy with previous records of assembly. The result is now obvious. Another major win for secrecy and back room discussions with no accountability to the public.

 However, we are most pleased to report that the previous, apparent ailment of many councillors is now rectified. Their bladders have improved markedly!

 

November 14, 2010

THE WHITESIDE EMAIL AND LETTER

Posted by gleneira under GE Governance
[7] Comments 

My fellow concerned citizens, 

As requested, please find attached the text of my letter of resignation from the Council of the City of Glen Eira, dated 30 July 2010 

I’m sorry I cannot reply to you individually due to the large number of responses I received, but I would like to express my thanks to you all for your interest in the good governance of the City. I also thank you for your sentiments of support. Many of you reminded me of the issues we dealt with together over the last 5 years. Some of you asked why I did not raise some of these issues more publicly whilst a Councillor. I understand this point but the Local Government Act allows certain matters to be treated In Confidence, and I have to abide by the law in this situation. However I can assure you I raised many concerns both with individual Councillors and with the Council as a group. 

I would like to encourage all of you to involve yourselves in Council matters and to demand transparency and accountability. For example:

  • Attend Council meetings every 3rd Tuesday at 7.30pm at the Council Chambers and submit questions in writing before 12noon on the day of the meeting Questions can be about any relevant matter, but  questions should be specific, constructive  and short, to elicit the best possible response..
  • Become informed about issues, individual Councillors attitudes and behaviours which may affect their decision making on particular issues.
  • Appreciate the quality and hard work of the Council Officers and Staff who have been recognized by State and Federal Government for their high achievements in many fields
  • Communicate your opinions to your Councillors and be aware of the importance of the position of Mayor who must lead the Council and be unbiased and sensitive to the interests of the whole community.
  • Read the most recent Report by the Local Government Inspector and his criticisms of some Councillor behaviours.  

I continue to live in Caulfield North and remain interested and concerned for the long term future of the Municipality.   

Sincerely 

Helen Whiteside

14 November 2010

 WE’VE UPLOADED THE LETTER HERE and also under ‘Why We’re Here’.

 

November 9, 2010

The Whiteside Letter of Resignation

Posted by gleneira under GE Governance
[7] Comments 

Today’s Caulfield Leader – Page 7

OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF GLEN EIRA

RESIGNATION FROM COUNCIL: FORMER MAYOR HELEN WHITESIDE EXPLAINS

Dear fellow citizens and ratepayers of Glen Eira,

Helen Whiteside resigned as councillor of Camden Ward and Deputy Mayor in July 2010. Council decided not to make public my resignation letter. Many people have contacted me with questions and support seeking more details, so I feel the need to explain.

After 5 years on council, elected twice, it was with sincere regret that I felt I had to resign.  The reasons were an accumulation of council decisions which in my opinion were not in the long term best interests of the City of Glen Eira, including, among others:

CEO reappointment: poor governance, excessive legal costs, and biased decisions during an extended process to reappoint our high performing CEO

Open Space: the decision to rescind a S173 agreement exchanging public open space land, now resulting in open space being removed from public use;

Conflicts of Interest: In my view some councillors did not make decisions based on merit and objectivity in the interests of all

Subsequent  to my resignation some councillors with whom I worked closely for 5 years took objection to my questioning of these matters of principle and their standards of ethical behaviour. In the interests of transparency I am willing to send the text of my resignation letter to anyone who contacts me by email hmwhiteside@bigpond.com

Yours sincerely

Helen Whiteside

31 October 2010

 

November 8, 2010

Open Up Doors at City Council

Posted by gleneira under GE Governance
[4] Comments 

Geelong Advertiser – November 3rd, 2010 

“FUNNY how some city councillors simply don’t get it. Their closed-door briefings should be open to the public and they could do themselves a great service in the process.

New rules means they have to publish an agenda but the public gets to know nothing else. And as this newspaper has revealed, the briefings have been used for straw polls, to change officer recommendations and to make decisions later rubber-stamped in open council.

The agenda rule was enacted after State Ombudsman George Brouwer warned of the patent scope for corruption. But the new agenda rule don’t go far enough.

Cr Bruce Harwood, a former mayor, insists there’s nothing untoward in the briefings. He claims that in his eight years as a councillor he’s not seen nor had any knowledge or even any suggestion of illegal or improper behaviour, secret deals done or changing of recommendations from officers.

Three years ago, ratepayers will remember, Cr Harwood, then a police detective, was investigated but cleared by the Office of Police Integrity over his role chairing a meeting that approved a nightclub extension for Home House owner Darryn Lyons; this, after holidaying on his yacht on the French Riviera.

He acknowledged in this paper yesterday that the council had abided with the Ombudsman, VCAT and other like government statutory body decisions.

What we don’t understand is why he or the council aren’t interested in sharing what they know with the ratepayers who voted them to office – and who may be affected by the decisions made from information and recommendations offered, garnered or changed at these briefings.

The State Government has offered lip service only with the new agenda rule and the council is similarly reluctant to engage the public. Again, we have ask, what is there to hide?”

We at glen Eira would take this even further and suggest that on the evidence of the records of ‘assembly of councillors’, the public is kept totally in the dark. For example: the minutes of last meeting record an item from the assembly of councillors as ‘exchange of emails’. Yet Lobo felt it necessary to oppose the acceptance of minutes (he got confused over council/special committee minutes and assembly reports) and asserted that this phrase should be retitled ‘racism’. So, we the poor suffering public only get a glimpse of what is really going on. But it’s even worse when one considers the fact that not only are such meetings closed to the public, but even advisory committee meetings are also conducted in secret. Only the environment advisory committee has external community members – all the rest are a closed shop. All of this is unfortunately ‘legal’ – it depends on the ethos, culture, and mentality of each individual council as to how they will interpret and implement the legislation. This is where our councillors have been a total failure in allowing the continual erosion of democracy in this council.

 

November 6, 2010

Racecourse and C60: Councillors the ‘missing link’?

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, GE Governance
[7] Comments 

Judging by the report tabled at last Wednesday night’s council meeting regarding the ‘discussions’ that have taken place between the MRC and Glen Eira, we can only conclude that the role and involvement of councillors has been practically non-existent. The report makes two things pretty obvious –

  • The real responsibility in these discussions lies with Newton and the CEO of the MRC – yet there has never been a formal public resolution by councillors to cede such authority to Newton
  • Councillors have been relegated to superficial issues such as deciding on toilets, playgrounds and whether these should have a place in the centre of the racecourse!!!!

Did anyone complain?

Did anyone suggest that councillors should be an integral part of ALL strategic discussions especially in something as important as this piece of land and the C60?

Were they denied access to these discussions? If so, why and by whom?

Were they even informed that such discussions were taking place?

Were they informed as to the outcomes of each discussion? If they were, then why did Penhalluriack see the need for this ‘request for a report’? Was it only to ‘report’ to the community or to councillors themselves?

Why have the public been kept in the dark? What, if any, cosy little arrangements have been determined?

How many phone calls, emails, etc. have flowed between the two CEO’s or their direct subordinates? This of course is not listed in the report!

Don’t people find it strange that according to the report Newton and the MRC CEO met on 7 occasions without councillors or officers present? That officers were present in other meetings between the CEOs on two occasions? Where were councillors (apart from the Mayor on two occasions)in all this?

Once again, councillors (and by extension the public) have been neatly hobbled and excluded from  important ‘negotiations’ and strategic planning. All the important bits have been left to Newton! Is this ‘democracy’ at work we ask?

 

November 6, 2010

‘City Fails Its People’ – Does this sound familiar?

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Governance
[2] Comments 

Front Page – Whitehorse Leader – October 27th, 2010

City fails its people

Residents want independent audit

WHITEHORSE ratepayers have slammed the council over a lack of transparency, excessive rates and wasteful programs. At a heated public meeting last week residents demanded an independent audit into council conduct for ‘‘failing the community’’. The three-hour forum saw residents pack into Manchester Unity Hall in Blackburn.

Among issues raised were inappropriate developments, executive salaries, protection of open space and community consultation. All 10 councillors were invited to to present the council’s case but none attended. Whitehorse Ratepayers and Residents Association president Bill Bennett blasted the council’s performance.

‘‘A lot of people here feel they don’t have a voice and that’s a real shame in this so-called democracy,’’ he said.

‘‘The council is a stumbling block and they are not wanting to hear what the community has to say.’’

Mr Bennett attacked the rate rise of a set 6 per cent over five years as residents struggle with the soaring cost of living.

‘‘We looked long and hard as to why this rate increase was justified and we haven’t been able to find any reasons,’’ he said.

Blackburn resident Roy Lloyd said an independent review of CEO Noelene Duff’s performance and council’s management was crucial to restoring ratepayer trust. ‘‘It requires a total change in attitude – unless something like this happens we will just be hitting our heads against a brick wall,’’ he said.

Whitehorse Mayor Bill Pemberton said the association claims were unfounded.

‘‘We spend a lot of time providing detailed responses, which means officers are taken away from other roles,’’ he said. ‘‘We work very hard to make things available as required under law for us to be transparent when it comes to costings and accountings.’’

Cr Pemberton said Whitehorse had less general managers on high salaries than most of the neighbouring councils. He said the past two budgets had been the best deal struck for residents. ‘‘We try to engage the community as best as possible.’’

 

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