SEARTG SAGA (TIME TO ACCOUNT FOR DEATH KNELL MEL)

In July 2014, The Minister for Local Government and Communities, Tony Simpson, brought down the curtain on SEARTG, for financial reasons, by refusing to continue to fund it.

For four years the CEO of SEARTG, Dominic Carbone, and his company, Dominic Carbone & Associates (ably assisted by some local councillors, administrators and DL Consultants) performed an expensive charade on behalf of the Local Government Advisory Board (LGAB) and the DLGC as they created a costly nothing out of potentially something.

Incidental expenses included a $30,000 “Carpet bagging” expedition to South Australia for the SEARTG bandwagon with unbridled wining and gourmet dining enjoyed by all (including those gourmand luminaries Ray and Pat Hooper and Tony Boyle- (my oysters in Champagne thanks.)

In an official internal memorandum regarding SEARTG, dated January 22, 2013, R. Hooper ,the CEO Reporting Officer for SEARTG (with his Disclosure of Interest-nil) stated that SEARTG had been provided government (DLGC) funding of $500,000 to investigate structural reform for the region to include business, asset management, strategic community and financial planning.

As CEO of the Shire of York, Ray Hooper, then assessed the strategic implications of this financial assistance on ‘The Shire of York’s 2012 Strategic Community Plan’ goals. These 2012-2013 goals, included,’ Maintain and preserve the natural environment during growth, enhancing the rural nature of York and ensuring a sustainable environment for the future’, and, ‘Value, protect and preserve our heritage and past’.

This was as of January 22, 2013. On February 11, 2013, a Special Meeting was held in York regarding the development of agricultural land West of York for disposal of waste from the Metropolitan Area-Allawuna Farm. (This makes Ray Hooper’s documented desire to preserve the natural environment and heritage infinitely hypocritical as per usual.)

Seven days later, at the Ordinary Council Meeting, dated February 18, 2013, it was advised that the LGAB wanted SEARTG transition funding to be $3,234,342 being for investigation into all structural reform. The State Government’s recorded funding commitment was $2.94 million. (At the same time Ray Hooper’s contract of employment as CEO of the Shire of York, ending on August 8, 2013, was renewed for two years on the understanding he would gain a senior position after the SEARTG amalgamation and allow certain Councillors to suck on a multi-million dollar teat.)

There will now be a formal demand for an account of all expenditure for these years of what could   be defined as unfettered, unaccounted-for largess –a huge, nebulous, financial outlay with no known positive result. This will be forwarded to all parties deemed to bear some responsible and interest in another local government debacle. (The Auditor General, Colin Murphy, could become a very busy man.)

Once again the reasons for amalgamation failure are as transparent as the DLGC’s obvious lack of accountability, in fact, any ability.

The Local Government Advisory Board claims to be an independent statutory body set up under the Local Government Act, 1995, to assess and advise the Minister for Local Government on proposals to change local government boundaries, including all amalgamation schemes.

It is comprised of a board of nine members from DLGC, WALGA and Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA) only and is directly responsible to the Minister, Tony Simpson.

There is no community interest group involvement, just the usual local government- attached leeches determined to maintain a powerbase within the framework of the lucrative local government grants, funding and salary package and allowances regime with nil compliance constraints. (So any claims of independence are at best facile, at worst non-existent.)
                                                                                                                                             

Mel Congerton - wannabe LG Commissioner

 

The LGAB Chairman is a Local Government Councillor, Mel Congerton, who is a staunch, long-serving Liberal Party member which caused the Shadow Minister for Local Government, David Templeman, to question Mr. Congerton’s personal independence and thereby his ability to appropriately chair the LGAB.

As Mr. Templeman should, particularly when the LGAB Chairman is appointed by the Minister for Local Government as being Tony Simpson’s choice - making Mr. Congerton extremely beholding to his mentor.

Almost beyond belief, but not quite, Mr. Congerton wrote to Tony Simpson in 2013 asking to become a Local Government Commissioner if the opportunity arose. This was when his LGAB was supposedly in charge of ensuring amalgamations took place within city councils and was ensuring funding for Dominic Carbone to do his thing at SEARTG.

His extremely compromising ‘begging-bowl’ effort at this time suggests Mr. Congerton expected all amalgamations to fail so he would like to be paid as a Commissioner to oversee any mess that he held much of the responsibility for creating. (It should be remembered that Local Government Commissioners are actually rare appointments, made only when a particular Local Government Council (and/ or its Administration) is deemed to be failing for some reason by the Minister for Local Government.)

Because the State Opposition found out and called for Mr. Congerton to resign, Minister Simpson had to say that his minion’s action had been ‘very inappropriate’. This malapropos understatement, brought about by the circumstances of an extreme conflict of interest, should have resulted in a statutory penalty for a chairman of a statutory body chosen by the Minister. (Like ‘see you later Mr. Congerton’.)

As of January 6, 2016, the senior members of the LGAB are Mary Adam (DLGC), Shayne Silcox (LGMA), Helen Dullard (WALGA), Karen Chappel (WALGA) and last, but by no means least- as Chairman, the so-far unsinkable Mel Congerton .

So when you read or hear a State Government Minister pontification about the independence of Independent Statutory Boards such as the LGAB, wet yourselves’ laughing. And if you are told these boards are highly competent and professional- try not to crack a rib.

Its Chairman is chosen by the Minister, it relies on the government for funding and its motley crew consists of in-house representatives who are as independent as a 2-day-old baby.  There is not one representative that could be described as being free from outside control or not subject to another authority-and with any ability other than to maintain the status quo.

It could be argued that SEARTG, funded by $3 million of our money, was never really meant to be because WALGA, the DLGC, the LGAB and the LGMA have 139 Local Government Councils to oversee and all these extra funds to play with. (The bigger the carcass, the larger the number of highly-paid vultures needing to circle overhead.)

To provide a potential successful amalgamation process, whether forced or by agreement, $3 million would be better spent by approaching the appropriate faculties at Western Australian universities to develop totally independent, logical and unbiased modelling for developing and transferring to a system of professional Local Government Regions of Councils.

Given the state of the WA economy this could be soon after March 17, 2017, without Tony Simpson, Brad Jolly, Jennifer Matthews and others like Mel Congerton who should be forming a conga-line outside Centrelink. (Unfortunately come rain, hail or shine, there will always be a Dominic Carbone, a Ray Hooper, some self-interested councillors and some lowly-skilled, public sector officers.)

David Taylor