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Inquiry to determine suspended City of Perth council’s fate

By intouch * posted 07-03-2018 14:55

  

The City of Perth council has been suspended and an inquiry panel is expected to look into the City's governance issues. 

WA’s Local Government Minister David Templeman ordered the inquiry as a result of “ongoing and serious concerns of failure by the elected council to ensure that the local government performs its functions properly”, making the council’s situation “untenable”.

Perth-view-at-the-noon-635829524_862x408.jpeg“I have formed a view that if I do not intervene, I am failing in my responsibilities as Minister and not fulfilling my obligations under the Local Government Act,” he said.

"As Minister for Local Government, it is my aim to support and champion the sector, however, I am also responsible for ensuring that it operates efficiently and effectively.

"The community has an expectation that the City of Perth, as our premier local government in the state, is leading by example and putting their ratepayers first.

"I am seeking to restore confidence in the people of Perth of the City's ability to provide good governance for its community, and this move is a further step towards achieving this."  

The suspension order, outlined under section 8.19 of the Local Government Act 1995, will see three commissioners fulfil the role of the suspended council and ensure continuity of service to ratepayers while the inquiry is underway.

Acting City of Perth CEO Annaliese Battista said: “It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the highly unusual pressures the City has experienced over the past few years.

“It has been very challenging for employees, and I know I speak for the CEO when I say staff’s well-being has been our priority throughout this period.

“It would be naïve to suggest the issues facing the Council haven’t impacted the reputation of the City of Perth.

“Our promise is to work closely with the Commissioners to restore the community’s confidence in our ability to provide good governance and continue to provide quality services to ratepayers, stakeholders and the community.

Following a possibly months-long the inquiry, a report will be prepared for the Minister to decide what action the State Government will take.
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