source : the age
WA local government minister Hannah Beazley insists the inquiry into the City of Perth announced at the start of the week is “a natural form of justice”.
Speaking on a State of Play panel at the WA Local Government Association conference on Thursday, Beazley said the “dysfunctional” label she gave the city earlier this year reflected the council’s poor behaviour.
“I think the dysfunction that I was calling out, unfortunately, reflects on the sector. That’s not my creation. That’s the creation of those elected members and others who were providing poor governance and behaving poorly,” she said.
As a result, she believes the inspector’s inquiry – announced on Monday – is the rational next step.
“Elected members deserve natural justice. In a matter of weeks [after Local Government Inspector Tony Brown began his role], the City of Perth requested a monitor that was provided, and I think that was a very good move,” she said.
“I would say if the inspector went straight to an inquiry after the City of Perth themselves had requested a monitor that would have been met with much disdain, and I could understand that because by reaching out for a monitor, they were accepting that they had issues, and they were trying to get that helping hand.”
Beazley said she did see behaviour improvements at the City while monitor Carol Adams was in her role, but it didn’t last.
“We were hoping that it would be permanent. It wasn’t. The next tool available to the inspector is an inquiry,” she said.
“And the monitor’s report has been incredibly helpful because we go from what was the previous City of Perth inquiry at over two years and over $7 million to a three-month short, sharp inquiry at a cost that is a fraction of that, at $120,000.”
New reforms
Earlier in the day, Beazley revealed an overhaul of the sector, including proposed election cycles extended to four years, aimed at encouraging more voter participation.
Voter turnout sunk to 29.6 per cent in last year’s local government elections, down from 31.2 per cent in 2023.
Beazley said this is due to “fatigue” – leading to a proposal to lengthen election cycles.
The government is also planning to do away with the “Dadour poll” provision that allows a minority of electors to effectively veto amalgamation proposals, in a bid to pave the way for more voluntary amalgamations between councils.
WA Opposition local government spokeswoman Kirrilee Warr said she would support the four-year cycle if it benefited councils financially.
“I guess, in principle, the support would be there if it’s going to save money at a council and a local government level,” she said.
“But when we talk about vacancies, and when we talk about councils, and if this is seen to be a solution to governance, I still have questions around how we are attracting people to want to put their hand up to be local councillors.”
She said instead of a reform, perhaps it was time for a reset.
“I think it’s about time that levels of government start working collaboratively, and I know traditionally you’ve been roads, rates, and rubbish, but is that the modern local government?” she said.
On Thursday morning, Housing and Works Minister John Carey said the four-year cycle would hopefully give a clear direction to everyone voting.
“You might not like the direction, but I can bet if the City of Perth went to a four-year cycle, and the majority of councillors put up their hand, I think ratepayers would throw the majority out rather than a two-year cycle that keeps in some of those existing relationships, which can be toxic,” he said.
WA Opposition leader Basil Zempilas said the term change “may make a difference” but was yet to be convinced.
“In terms of what’s happening in local government at the moment, I’m not sure that it was the most pressing concern,” he said.
“What we’d like to see is a resolution with what’s happening at the City of Perth, and the fact that we’re going to be nine months down the track before we get even close to a resolution, I think, is very disappointing for every ratepayer in the city.”
Beazley said a number of local governments approached her about the topic, but she wouldn’t put a number on exactly how many.
“What I would say is that every single one of those has been positive in terms of being absolutely happy to look at amalgamations because they do see the benefits of that, particularly when they’re looking to the future and how service delivery is changing,” she said.
But she was clear amalgamations would not be forced upon any local government.
In the regions
Warr said it was disappointing to see two key regions left out of the state government’s seven regional cities identified as key centres for economic development earlier this year.
“Unfortunately two regions were forgotten. I think that might have been the Wheatbelt and Peel. So sorry to your local governments because as far as I know, there’s nine regional development areas,” she said.
“So clearly you’re not on the list, and I think that sends a clear message to perhaps how regional voices have been diminished and how there is a disdain for the regions, and you’ve been forgotten.”
Data centres were also a topic of discussion on the panel. Beazley – who is the Minister for Gascoyne – said the regions could best benefit from them.
“I think data centres represent a huge opportunity for our local governments, particularly those in the regions,” she said.
“Two Sri Lanka’s fit inside the Gascoyne, but it’s home to 10,000 people. It is the most sparsely populated region in Australia, if not the world, and it’s an incredibly special region.
“But that means there’s a whole lot of uninhabited land with a lot of sunshine and quite a bit of wind. So there are huge opportunities.”
