For those watching today's eleven minute Council meeting you might have just had time to notice that the new General Manager, Warwick Winn, was present. The meeting itself revealed little however those who are able to read between the lines would have come away from today's Public Access Session, Public Forum Session and then Council meeting with some very interesting observations. Public Access had four speakers registered: one re Wagonga Scenic Drive, one re DA approval procedures, and two re coastal management program. The speaker on Wagonga Scenic Drive revealed in his presentation that Council had basically ignored their legal obligations in maintaining a Public Road, had turned a blind eye to an illegal closure of a Public Road, failed to allow requests for open and transparent discussion of the issue with councillors, ignored directives from the Ombudsman, hampered information requests, lied, colluded with third parties and behaved in a manner that, now revealed, brings the Council into further disrepute. For a new General Manager hearing of the allegations of failure, ineptitude, subterfuge, cover up and audacity it will be interesting if he dares to organise the meeting that has long been requested with Council, Councillors, Forestry and the RFS that will, once and for all, reveal Council's role in the mismanagement of a concerning issue. The next eye-opener for the new General Manager would have been to hear of the litany of bungling, deceptions and coverups at the hands of Council staff that goes from the floor to senior management over their failure of processing a Development Application which has led to needless threats and conflict between two neighbours. To date the Council have been unapologetic in regards to their ineptitudes, their failure to recognise their role, and their blind support of staff who have caused an unacceptable outcome for residents who expected better of a system that failed them. Possibly the best thing the General Manager could do is to invite the McBrides in for a one on one without the elephant being present in the room interjecting with bleating excuses. In hearing of the issue the new GM might wonder how far reaching the audacious, unfettered, actions of his Planning Department have become and hear of the impacts that poor decisions, pig headed decisions and professional ineptitudes have had on those who have interacted with Council's planning department over recent years. There will be those who might dare to come forward but alas, the threat of vindictive retaliation might keep many who still have dealings with Council holding their tongues. Until the toxic underbelly that still lingers is removed trust in Council will not be restored. Those watching the Public Access session today would have heard from two well informed Northern Batemans Bay residents who clearly described the failings of Council in dealing with the very real issues that surrounds the impact of Council's own studies on Coastal Management and how it directly affects residents, the value of their property and the insurability of their property. Once again the new General Manager might like to sit down with the Surfside residents and hear, without the bleating excuses and rhetoric of staff, the justifiable concerns these residents have and how they have been lied to, let down by politicians and broken electioneering promises. On to the Council meeting. In all the fun and fanfare of introducing and welcoming the new General Manager to the chamber the small matter of adopting the minutes of the last Council meeting was missed. It is not know whether any of the Councillors had the gumption to raise the issue of the Director of Planning raising a Point of Order during that meeting. Had they done so they might have been told that because there was nothing written down saying a staff member, or even a member of the general public dressed in a dinosaur costume sitting in the public gallery, cant make a Point of Order, explaining it is at the discretion of the Chair to allow it or not. No doubt this will be tested by members of the public keen to hear their own Points of Oder considered.
During the eleven minute council meeting the new General Manager would have seen that no-one bothered in raising Questions on Notice or a Notice of Motion that might indicate that everything is tickety-boo.
Moving ahead, the new General Manager discovered that our Deputy Mayor calls it as she sees it.
In September 2022 Council resolved to write to various state and federal ministers on points of advocacy for our shire. The responses Council has received to date were provided as attachments to the agenda papers today with the recommendation:
THAT Council receive and note the responses received to date from NSW and Australian Government ministers on point of advocacy for our shire.
The Councillors might have all raised their hands without any comment accepting the staff recommendation but Councillor Alison Worthington didn't, revealing in fact that there were three responses that only advised that Council's letter would be passed to the appropriate minister, or pubic servant, to address, with the remaining responses received being "underwhelming".
For many in the Eurobodalla the typical written response from Council to any correspondence is often 'underwhelming' so it is of interest that the councillors now have an idea of what it feels like to be disregarded, disempowered, under valued and basically brush aside by State bureaucrats.
As an idea the new General Manager might like to review some of Council's correspondences to community members, starting with the McBrides of Surf Beach in regards to the planning debacle that Council caused and refuses to accept any responsibility for other than to declare they have now 'changed their processes' to ensure the hurt they have caused by their failures doesn't happen again, to anyone.
In all the Council session was illuminating. We saw the councillors who participated, the ones who said nothing, the ones who paraphrased, the ones who offered little but a needless accolade out of context, whilst failing to also recognise the support and strong voices of three principle players who carried the ball to the finish line and secured vital infrastructure funding.
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