QUESTIONAIRE (what is a ‘Bin Chicken’ and a ‘Tip Rat’?)

‘BIN CHICKEN’ (urban dictionary definition of the Australian White Ibis that happily gorges itself on all the delicious ingredients in a suburban rubbish bin.)

‘TIP RAT’ (urban dictionary street talk relating to people and waste disposal)

‘Tip Rat’ in particular is an expressive US colloquialism with an Australian usage. It is a fundamental reference to the human species, mostly unflattering.

It varies from describing a Collingwood AFL footballer, a characterization of a person who patrols an area of land designated for the storage of human wastes, an underachieving public servant who, through lack of ability, is destined to remain in the stultifying atmosphere of a government agency and someone that is not liked at all.

The Minister for Local Government, David Templeman, has called many of the WA local government councillors male (sexist), pale (racist) and stale (age prejudiced).

So the Hon. Minister should accept the fact that environmentalists may feel that some of the upper echelon of the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) is male, pale and stale, and the added descriptive colloquialism.

That is when their scientific evaluation is adversely adjusted to the monetary valuation of the project at hand.

And then there is the recent problem of DWER’s failure to provide important documents on their website during the Allawuna Sunset Clause consultative process. Just unimportant information like Works Approval Application’s citing supporting geotechnical data, noise, odour and dust assessments and hydrological site characterization. 

Rationalists may feel the bigger the project, the more money to be spent, the more State Government pressure, the more likely these environmental regulators will not give a ‘rats’ about any potential for environmental disaster and provide their approval.

Of course this could make the Hon. Stephen Dawson, the Minister for Environment the head of a rat pack, which includes David Kelly (Water) and Rita Saffioti (Land) who are hardly likely to be on any environmentalist’s Christmas card list.

Those who care understand there is a company trading as Alkina Holdings Pty Limited with its principles being Sam Mangione and Jake Hickey.

The company is using the coattails of SUEZ, the former applicant for the use of Allawuna Farm as an enormous Perth rubbish dump while the Shire of York sat twiddling its thumbs and collectively sucking one.

SUEZ bowed-out, claiming it would be cheaper to dump its waste elsewhere.

So how do Mr. Mangione and Mr. Hickey intend to store your rubbish bin treasures and make lots of cash out of trash?

Alkina Holdings Pty Limited’s corporate background could be described as eclectic, but hardly impressive to the astute finance analyst.

It commenced trading as Alternative Living Pty Limited on March 1, 2007, lasting 9 months until December 18, 2007. It changed to Alkina Holdings on the same day

The Company has used business names such as Solid Rock Homes and Muchea Constructions.

You can only buy a Solid Rock Home in Tacoma, Washington State, USA, so it probably is not the same business, but is currently listed as an Alkina business name.

Unless there is another Sam Mangione, the Alkina one is also the co-owner and managing director of the largest, privately owned, waste management company in WA, Instant Waste Management.

So it will be interesting to see how the moon, the stars, the power of money and political influence align in the future.

The other alignment would be local dust, odour, noise and pollution of potable water supplies, including rain and ground water by airborne gases such as methane and CO2 and what other chemicals combine together in the bowels of a putrescible (decaying) waste dump.

Methane and CO2 are major contributor to ‘Climate Change’. However Methane is a 25 times more dangerous ‘Global Warming’ pollutant than CO2- if that is any comfort to anybody. In Donald Trump’s America CO2 and Methane are the ‘Greenhouse Gasses’ responsible for one/third of the country’s foul air.

To all of the above, with methane, you can add the risk of fire.

The toxic financial fall-out could be crop and soil damage, the reduction in the price of surrounding farmland and lots of other special defects. Maybe lamb quads with one leg each.

Through the auspices of the Greens Robin Chapple MLC, seven questions were raised in parliament with the Minister for the Environment Stephen Dawson. These questions were created by me with the collaboration of Mrs. Kay Davies.

The Minister’s answers are published below on what is called the ‘Great (200,000 tonnes per annum) Southern Landfill’ with 3,800 tonnes delivered, each week, by a never ending polluting procession of tip trucks.

It took the Minister 49 days to provide his response in just 157 words which is mind boggling in itself.

His answers encapsulated questions A to G. It appears the Minister does not know there is b, c, d, e and f in between.

If it is any consolation this dictum was released on Wednesday November 28, 2017, just two days ago, meaning no decision had been made up until then.

He has also suggested Question G be redirected to other Ministers regarding the acceptability of the Great Southern Highway for additional huge, heavy haulage, traffic movements and its death toll that may well be nine since 2000.

Robin Chapple is resubmitting this question to the Minister for Transport but does not expect a retarded response until April 2018.

Hopefully this means that a decision will not be contemplated until 4 months into the New Year.
But don’t count on it.

David Taylor

THE MINISTER’S RESPONSE:

Parliament and Session             40 : 1

House   Council Sitting Date     10/10/2017

Answered On                              28/11/2017

Status                                          Approved and Published

Title: Question Description Great Southern Landfill - York

387. Hon Robin Chapple to the Minister for Environment:

I refer to Alkina Holdings Pty Ltd's application for a works approval for a landfill site, being the Great Southern Landfill of Lot 4869 on Plan 224502 in Certificate of Title Volume 285, Folio 784 at St. Ronan’s York, and ask:

(a) what is the risk of leachate and other pollutants, including the possible storage of crocidolite asbestos fibres, contaminating the Mundaring Weir catchment areas such as St. Ronan’s Well and Conservation Area (Western Australia Government Heritage Commission Listing 04429), local fresh ground water such as at St. Ronan’s Well itself and attendant water courses, creeks and river systems;

(b) what assurance and absolute protection is to be provided to prevent the contamination of surrounding valuable, finite, highly productive agricultural land including under the Australian Government Biodiversity Act 2015 in accordance with, but not limited to, its export compliance regulations regarding contaminated agricultural goods;

(c) what absolute protection is guaranteed against catastrophic breaching of this landfill site by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, creating a 3 metre high fault line, 40 kilometres in length which occurred approximately 40 kilometres from this site 49 years ago;

(d) what viable and adequate emergency contingency plans will be put in place to minimize any environmental, property and personal damage to those persons located within a radius of a minimum of 10 kilometres of the site in case of any breech and who will pay for the implementation of these plans and any infrastructure required including forms of risk insurance, now and in the future;

(e) what is the current traffic volume for both private and commercial vehicles using the Great Southern Highway between The Lakes and St. Ronan’s;

(f) what will be the weekly volume of Alkina Holdings Pty Ltd waste management vehicles and their tonnage using what is considered to be, by its users and the former Premier, Colin Barnett and the former Minister for Water and the Member for Central Wheatbelt, Mia Davies, as a possibly dangerous, narrow, winding road, potentially unsuitable for large increases in heavy haulage traffic movements; and

(g) what has been the death and serious injury toll on the Great Southern Highway, between The Lakes and St. Ronan’s since 2001?

Answer:

(a–g)

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is currently assessing a works approval application (W6077/2017/1) for the construction of a class II putrescible landfill site on Great Southern Highway, St Ronans.

I understand that the application has proposed an annual throughput of 200 000 tonnes which equates to approximately 3 800 tonnes of waste being delivered to the site each week.

The Department is currently assessing potential risks to the environment and public health posed by landfill emissions including leachate and asbestos fibre release. Part of this assessment includes consideration of risk to sensitive receptors, such as groundwater, surface water bodies and conservation areas. The potential for ground disturbance, including the probability of earthquakes occurring and impacting on the proposed landfill is also being considered.

I am advised that the Department has consulted with a range of stakeholders on the application and received a number of submissions which will be considered prior to making a determination.

Questions related to traffic increases and road safety should be referred respectively to the Ministers for Transport and Road Safety.

DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT (Is ‘Chalkies” another Shire million dollar nemesis?)

There could be more grief for the Shire of York as political attitudes change at the top and swing inexorably away from unrestricted, unmonitored local government council autonomy to being considered incompetent malfeasant ‘bunnies’ in the financial audit and Governance State Government ‘spotlight’.

Now there is a new David Templeman ‘Bill’ for early next year, with the ominous title of ‘Demolition by Neglect’, that may have serious consequences for the Shire of York.

If you own a heritage listed building that is falling apart at the seams through neglect by the owners then they could face a $1 million fine and a year in jail much sooner than later.

‘Chalkies’, aka St. Patricks Catholic Convent is listed as Place Number 02898 on the Government of Western Australia Heritage Council Register. It also gets an honourable mention on the National Trust and National Estate lists.

Its owner, whether it likes it or not, is the Shire of York!

Since its controversial purchase, Chalkies has been condemned by experts as unfit for public use with a minimum price-tag for restoration of $1 million, including GST.

The building has remained untouched, soon to be known as ‘demolition by neglect’, since it was acquired by Commissioner James Best, acting as the Shire of York, over two years ago.

Next year it will be required that the owners of a decaying, neglected, heritage listed building must make the property safe and secure with Chalkies meeting all the decaying, neglected and heritage listing dilapidation stipulations.

All owners must agree to undertake emergency repairs.

Recalcitrants will be issued with a ‘repair notice’ and if no effective action is taken, a ‘repair order’

Failure to abide by the repair order by the due date will mean a $50,000 penalty for every week that repairs remain unfinished. After that, if nothing positive happens, the $1million fine will be levied with the owner facing a 12-month jail term.

Unfortunately when a State Government decides to cast a net, such as one to prevent itself from having to forcefully acquire derelict historic buildings, it can catch more than it bargained for from the Governmental Bureaucratic Stupidity Syndrome.

There cannot be a severe punishment for the private owners without the same rules applying to publically owned buildings possessed by a local government, repaid for by ratepayers through a loan from WA Treasury.

As things stand now, ratepayers definitely face a $1million repair bill that may have to come from the Shire’s 2017-18 Budget.  That should be a given.

If it does not, then as soon as the bill is passed, the Shire of York should be issued with a repair notice, and if it fails to meet its obligations, a $1million fine making Chalkies a $2 million waste of local ratepayer’s money.

Ownership of Chalkies by the Shire could make the President, David Wallace, the principal owner by default- or otherwise through legal recognition.

If things go pear-shaped as they often do at the Shire of York, Mr. Wallace, could face jail or a suspended sentence. Either of which would require his resignation from Council!

The Council and its Administration are still questioning the legality of the purchase of Chalkies by Commissioner Best, ad nauseam, without any positive resolution.

The fact that the WA State Government wants to put the financial burden of maintaining historic buildings on those named on the purchase documents does not bode well for the Shires’ chances of placing the onus back on David Templeman.

Once again the Shire of York shows extreme ignorance and an inability to deal appropriately with the happenings within and outside its area.

Like defending its ratepayers against a rubbish dump at St. Ronans Well, the Shire of York Council Executive staff keep getting caught with their pants down, literally, metaphorically and actually.

David Taylor.

CAN YOU TELL HOMO OBSCENUS from HOMO ERECTUS?

(Shire Employment Vacancy……………………experienced Local Government Executive Pervert required.)
Neanderthals, as a species of Homo Erectus, died out 40,000 years ago.

Unfortunately extremely primitive mentality and prejudices have remained among some modern men including the perpetual denigration of the female of the species, both physically and mentally.

This includes such inspired verbal garbage as women only stood up straight when men invented the shopping trolley or that a man Indecently and wilfully exposing himself to women anywhere - is only a joke!

In many people’s minds the Shire of York could well have sunk back into the Stone Age if information filtering through to the community is true. It is certainly not humorous nor can anyone defend the indefensible.

Information suggests that a Shire of York, Public Servant with Senior Management status, in charge of staff and with all the duties of care this entails, exposed his genitalia to female staff more than once and to more than one person within the Shire of York Offices.

Actually there were three women believed to be involved whose names are being withheld for obvious personal reasons. The Shire’s involvement is withholding information for obvious reasons being self-protection.

By definition Indecent Exposure in a public place includes a school, a police station- and the workplace.

It is not only an act of sexual harassment in the workplace under the Fair Work Act, Australia, legislation- it is a Criminal Act.

Under Western Australia law it comes under the Criminal Code section 203 with the sentence for a Summary Conviction being 9 months jail and a $9,000 fine and as a Criminal Conviction-2 years’ incarceration.

Once is a criminal offence probably dealt with as Summary Conviction. More than once is a serious recidivism in a criminal offence to be dealt with in a Criminal Court in front of a judge and jury.

The hierarchy of the Shire appear not to wish to make any comment even though they are directly answerable to the ratepayer. It is disgusting as it could allow a pervert, who should be convicted of a criminal offence, to flash his way through another Shire Council as he allegedly did in Busselton.

If the Shire of York President or its Chief-Executive-Officer have displayed a ‘suck-it-up-princess’ mentality and refused to advise the police of what has occurred within their duty of care- this should not be tolerated.
It only preserves the currently flawed system of Local Government Probity and Governance

A second possibility is that those who deliberately withhold information regarding an indictable indecent sexual act without any reasonable excuse can face their own conviction and jail sentence.

Given the circumstances, including the additional workplace related offences of bullying and racial discrimination, it suggests that the offender’s actions were known for a period of time and all information was withheld from the community through fear and self-interest.

Who the self-interested parties are should be self-evident.

There is a third, the Executive Manager for Corporate and Commercial Services who is the Human Resources Manager responsible for the quality of performance of all staff, including the Chief Executive Officer and other Executive managers and their occupational health and safety.

She has apparently dropped the ‘balls’, big time!

So would the local Police know about this scandal and who the perpetrator and victims are?

You would hope so- otherwise they are not very good at policing.

Their problem is that they have no ability, or resources, to undertake this sort of investigation.

This does not prevent the Sargeant-in-Charge from ringing the WA Police Sexual Assault Squad and/or the Sex Offender Management Team and provide them with any knowledge of these criminal offences in his possession and understanding. (These police officers claim to work closely with local police in regional Western Australia.)

Failure to do so makes him as culpable as any member of the public by withholding information regarding a criminal act and could see his career in the force jeopardized if he does not act appropriately.

And the Shire of York should be treated with the contempt it deserves!

David Taylor.

MOVE OVER HOLLYWOOD HERE COMES YORK

OMG-if you did not believe it before, you can believe it now. York average rates are $1,900 with other rural/regional shires averaging $1,386, a variance of nearly 30%, way-over the state average and $400 per annum more than the City of Perth. So it is time for strict governance from Minister Templeman and CO and a new Local Government Act dealing specifically with Rural, Regional and Remote Shire Council problems!

BUT THINGS GET WORSE- we now have a tinsel-town type scandal with a crewe-member being outed.

                                               OPEN LETTER

Date November 9, 2017
Mr. Duncan Ord
Director General
Department of Local Government

Dear Sir

YOUR REF: - Current WA Local Government Law and Regulations and the quality of Public Servants as they effect Rural, Regional and Remote WA.


For nearly a decade every politician and bureaucrat involved in local government have thrown their hands in the air regarding continuing public angst and unrest caused by shire council administrative mismanagement, the poor quality of councillors and local government employees and lack of any form of transparency. The favourite catchcry is- ‘it’s not my problem-you are autonomous’.

In the underpopulated rural Local Government Areas it has been like a high risk, almost terminally ill patient being denied access to the rudimentary health advice and support required to prevent the necessity of palliative care that, in the end, is way too expensive to provide. Despite this, a previous Local Government Official, Brad Jolly, had the gall to call us mendicant

So- exactly whose problem does this new government think it is?

Obviously the poor ratepayer who elects the councillors then suffers the consequences which are considered self-generated under the government’s interpretation of local government law and regulations- is the perception of the culprit.

The Shire of York has just terminated the contract of Mr. Paul Crewe, Executive Manager Infrastructure and Development Services who is responsible for all works and services, capital projects, asset planning, asset maintenance, planning for whatever, environmental health, building, roads, the wide-ranging dogcatcher who used to subcontract the local pound out as boarding kennels and council emergency services programs.

Why? Who knows and so what!  You will say that this is a matter for the Chief-Executive-Officer and Council, in particular the President who probably does not share such information with colleagues as mandated to do.
WELL IT IS NOT!

It appears to be a matter for Worksafe Australia, the Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act, Fairwork Australia and the Racial Discrimination Act.

It is alleged that Paul Crewe has hit the jackpot, a trifecta of the worst acts of staff victimisation that cause trauma and stress in the workplace, Sexual Harassment, Bullying and Racial Discrimination.

Each one of these offenses should see the manager concerned removed from office and not be allowed to be in charge of staff again.

What happens in Local Government is there will be a collusive agreement between the Shire President and the CEO to prevent any details of what has occurred from surfacing in the public arena. The perpetrator will receive a payout with a confidentiality clause covering all parties to the agreement preventing them, by law, in making any further comment.

He will probably move to another council with the sanction and protection of the WA Local Government Association and Local Government Professionals WA.

What should happen, in the best interest of the future of local government, is that the Shire of York should come under intense scrutiny, by all authorities concerned, for failing to provide a safe working environment. (It has been sacked, suspended and now this!)

Any and all shire staff effected should demand compensation from the Shire through their union representatives or legal firms such as Slater & Gordon who may be more than happy to instigate a class action on behalf of a number of claimants on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis.

Compensation at the top end of the scale of severity in such cases can be up to $150,000 per individual.

It is what should happen, but it is the last thing that the Shire of York and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Clowns, Tumblers and Jugglers in Cultural Industries, with its shambolic, impolitic, archaic legislation, that sits on its hands suggesting it is an unaccountable eunuch of a governance body, would want.

That is with the exception of the Local Government Risk Profile expose where now the Minister for Local Government is claiming ‘the Department has an important role in building capacity and good governance in the local government sector and providing effective regulation through ensuring compliance with the Local Government Act 1995 and its regulations.

There are only two ways to look at this. It is either the biggest load of government bullshit ever written or it’s the greatest ‘lightbulb’ moment in recent local government history with this Minister admitting that Labors’ 1995 Act should actually be complied with.

Now that is a revelation 23-years in the making.
Any community can base its rationalised visualization on the fact that this Local Government Risk Profile has been operating for the past six years with the risks still rapidly multiplying.

Now back to the problem of the quality and accountability of Local Government Public Servants!

Mr. Crewe had a big job- yet was just a small fish in the local government pond, but an expensive fish none the less, in the nearly $4 million, per annum, Shire of York salary and wage cost fiscal swamp. Much more than the shire spends on facilitation for its huge, elderly population.

Maybe he was exhausted because he has not had the support of a Works and Services Manager and a plethora of other shire minions.

Mr Crewe was not much more than 12 months into his contract.   So there, arguably, goes another $500,000, plus any compensation claims raised through his dismissal, and including the additional salary paid to whoever replaces him.

The news of his rapid departure, which coincided with the council elections, appears to have been  kept secret so that it could not have any effect on the recent council polls.

The only candidate for whom this potential scandal may have been of some detriment was the Shire of York President, David Wallace.

Your government says that all the above is still the total responsibility of the individual Shire Council.

Unfortunate rural ratepayers get their throats cut three times, once by local, then state and federal governments. In many cases mainly for the privilege of having their rubbish collected and their wallets emptied by those whom your government calls the male, pale and stale local government member coterie who, in York, decided to have their own, publically funded, Tavern licenced Bar and Cafe.

So, based on gender, how is Ms. Lisa Scaffidi, referred to- female, failed and anything that rhymes with jail?

Probably the real catalyst for the Local Government Risk Profile was the opening of the Royalty for Regions billionaire cookie-jar.

Since then a number of councils have provided palatial, often unused, community facilities using this funding without the least idea of how much the annual running costs would be and the overall community debt accrual over its usable lifetime. Sending their ratepayers down a faecal creek so to speak!

York is one of these with the inclusion of its York Recreation & Convention Centre, based on its shire’s Actual Revenue Figures and Budget Actual Expenditure, ensuring an over budget expenditure of $13, 760,000 for the 2016-2017 Financial Year.

If you add on the actual cost of the planning, development and construction of the YRCC then you could project an over budget expenditure of $20,000,000 in nice round figures.

The future investigation into how Royalties for Regions funds were misspent to create local government financial mayhem should include the YRCC and its Tavern Licenced Forrest Bar and Café which makes a mockery of the government’s Competitive Neutrality requirements.

This is that there is no net competitive advantage through public sector ownership because the necessities of social welfare and equity, regional development demands and the interests of the consumers are all being met. This is one with single answer- bullshit!

And a $20 million fiasco for a shire with the 3,600 inhabitants- is bordering on gross negligence and should have past Shire of York Councillors breaking out in a cold sweat!

It would be nice if the YRCC matter is raised between the DLGC at the next meeting with the WA Corruption and Crime Commission to see if the negligent loss of $20 million of ratepayers, and taxpayer’s money is considered some sort of offence.

Otherwise is placed on the list of the inept blunders made by the previous government to be investigated by the proposed government committee on Royalties for Regions project expenditure.

There have been a number of salient points raised in this letter. I do not require or expect a response, it is if anything mentioned here becomes a serious issue to the public and the community you cannot claim to know nothing about it.

Yours sincerely
David Taylor.
Shire of York Ratepayer.

$240,000 FOR YOUR THOUGHTS- PLUS EXTRAS.

Large business corporations such as 7 West Media and Myer have suffered massive hits to their share price, being two of the worst performing companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

This has resulted in Chief-Executive-Officers handing back millions in bonuses, copping substantial pay-cuts and probably staring down the barrel of being part of a headcount reduction process.

So it’s lucky that many WA Local Government Councils are not listed on the ASX.

Over the past 5 years, WA’s wage growth for the average worker has been less than 2% per annum.

Now here comes the good news. At the same time the poor old Local Government Council CEO’s, some overworked and many underperforming, have managed to gouge a massive 40% to 56% salary package increase.

This bonanza, in disastrous economic times for WA, is courtesy of gullible Local Government Councils, supportive protective, secretive societies such as the WA Local Government Association and the Local Government Managers Association, all sanctioned by a failed  Department of Local Government.

No-one really knows what may be being spent and even squandered on salaries because of what is called ‘chronic underreporting’- meaning hiding the salary amount so ratepayers do not go ballistic.

However an example has been provided by the Mayor of the Town of Cambridge, Keri Shannon.

Her council, with its 28,000 residents, is a precinct close to inner-city Perth. It has a population that is nearly 8 times larger than the Shire of York’s.

Her CEO, Jason Buckley, receives a current salary of $244.231, $35,413 in Superannuation, a $15,645 vehicle allowance, $13,579 in fringe benefit tax support and $4,000 for his laptop and mobile phone.

At the lower end of the scale, the CEO of the City of East Fremantle with a population of 7,765 has a remuneration package of $170,000 while his counterpart at the City of Joondalup, with a population of 161,000 receives between $370,000 and $380, 000 per annum.

All three manage to pay their CEO with a domestic rate levy lower than that of the Shire of York that demands $514 per annum more from its ratepayers, on average, than the rest of Regional WA and at least $153 more than the typical Perth Metropolitan ratepayer, with Peppermint Grove ratepayers forking out the most-$4,134 per annum .

So what does the Shire of York CEO, Paul Martin, get paid?

Is this a matter between Council and the CEO only? No it is not!
Based on published figures the CEO of the City of East Fremantle is paid $170,000 while acting on behalf of a population twice the size of the Shire of York.

Based on population numbers alone, Mr. Martin’s base salary should be below $100,000.

It is certainly not that. His salary package including wages, Superannuation, vehicle allowance, rental allowance, maybe fringe benefit tax support and communications could be around $275,000.

As Mr. Martin has been at the Shire of York for 18 months he obviously must have had a Performance Review and highly likely a Salary Review.

Based on a 40% to 56% hike in city CEO’s packages, after the first 12 months he could have received an increase of between 8% and 11% on a $240,000 base salary which means an additional $19,200 to $26,400.

Now like numerous colleagues in Perth, it is time for President David Wallace to follow the example of Mayor Keri Shannon and ensure that Shire of York ratepayers are not chronically under-informed through chronic-underreporting by him- or worse still- no reporting at all.

Mr. Martin has one challenge that many city councils do not have, that is massive, per-capita, road maintenance costs that have burgeoned to $29,000,000 with an alleged $22,000,000 gap between revenue and expenditure.

This issue has just become more contentious with the rapid departure of the Executive Manager Infrastructure and Development Services, Paul Crewe, and that there has been no assistant, being a Manager of Works and Services, for many months.

So a massive debt and responsibility for local roads is now been looked after by whom, with what qualifications and for how long?

Then there is the massive expenditure on Recreation and Culture, otherwise known as the YRCC of over $17,000.000.

In the next few months it will be found out if President Wallace is just a sheep, maybe a lamb or someone with more substance?

David Taylor.