Three relevant new Ministers have been contacted in the past 24- hours and
two have already replied.
This may mean you will be called on to get your facts straight and get your acts together, sooner than later.
This may mean you will be called on to get your facts straight and get your acts together, sooner than later.
Date April 28, 2017
Hon David Templeman MLA
Minister for Local Government
7th Floor Dumas House
2 Havelock Street
WEST PERTH, WA 6005
Hon David Templeman MLA
Minister for Local Government
7th Floor Dumas House
2 Havelock Street
WEST PERTH, WA 6005
Dear Minister
Your ref :- THE FUTURE OF THE SHIRE OF YORK’S FORREST BAR & CAFE
I have written to your colleagues, Paul Papalia, and, John Quigley, questioning the legalities and legitimacy of the Shire of York Tavern, the Forrest Bar & Café.
Minister Papalia, through his portfolios, may have some interest in the destructive affects this tavern has had on tourism and the facts of how, when and why the Department of Liquor Licencing issued this licence that has caused so much controversy in the local community- and damage to local businesses operating in the beverage and food marketplace.
I have suggested to the Attorney General that the Shire of York Tavern Licence 6020142381 is a business licence to trade commercially in direct competition with private businesses owned and operated by the Shire’s own ratepayers, much to their financial detriment.
Therefore its actions as a commercial enterprise could be scrutinized under the terms of Section 46, Competition and Consumer Act 2010, the Trade Practices Act, Fair Trading Laws and laws pertaining to continuing trading in Insolvency.
As the Shire of York’s Forrest Tavern, now renamed the Forrest Bar & Café, was initially funded by the National’s Royalties for Regions scheme I have written to the Local Member for the Central Wheatbelt, Mia Davies, the party’s new leader.
Ms. Davies had claimed in the media that’ Royalties for Regions was the most scrutinized spend in Government’.
She went on to say that every project required a business case to be prepared by the department responsible for the spend.
In this case it would appear that the past Department of Local Government and Communities would bear part of the responsibility for the initial spend.
The project was then assessed by the Department of Regional Development (suggesting that as a regional project, including the Tavern, it was cleared to proceed by this department) and then passed on to Cabinet for final approval.
I informed Ms. Davies that the aggregate spend on this capital works project, including the tavern, was now in excess of $15 Million or a current $5,000 debt for every man, woman and child in the Shire of York.
Obviously she has not replied.
Much of the annual debt is created by the expenditure on, and continuing financial failure of the Forrest Bar & Café.
The result has been a massive increase in Shire domestic and commercial rates to the point of being extremely deleterious to the socio-economic welfare of the community, including a massive, negative impact on its future.
Given the current circumstances the enormous scale of percentage increases of these rates could continue well into the next decade.
It is my information that no adequate or proper business case, including whole of life costings for this project, was designed and produced by the Shire of York, with the onus being on the Shire President, his Council, the Chief Executive Officer and his deputy, the Finance Officer and the Planning Officer to have done so.
Should the Attorney General initiate an investigation and the tavern found to be in breach of any business laws and regulations, then those at the Shire of York at that time, responsible for ideation, approval and development of this project should be held appropriately accountable.
The senior officers of the Department of Local Government and Communities, being responsible to ensure good governance and financial accountability could also share a degree of culpability, as well as the Director General of Liquor Licencing, the Department of Regional Development and the previous Cabinet.
The current Council that was elected in 2015, and the Senior Local Government official, the Chief Executive Officer appointed at the beginning of 2016, have been fully aware of this ongoing serious financial position which commenced four (4) years ago and have only recently made any effort to try and alleviate the situation.
This was through public submissions, finally released at an Ordinary Meeting of Council , held on April 24, 2017, just four days ago.
Of the 12 submissions received only two made much sense. The first was to close the Café (Restaurant) and allow the sporting clubs to run their own bar under a leasing arrangement. The other was to lease the Forrest Bar & Café to a private business.
The argument here is who should be the Licencee? The answer should be not the Shire of York- and the Licence should not be a Tavern Licence.
The alternative action would be to place the Forrest Bar & Café into enforced receivership, bring in an independent liquidator to find an appropriate debt recovery solution. Personally I do not believe that the Shire of York as an entity has the capabilities to resolve this issue to the satisfaction of the majority of the community.
Obviously , if the Attorney General undertakes an investigation that provides evidence of serious wrongdoings under commercial laws then the possibility of finding a market for the Forrest Bar and Café could end- leading to its permanent closure.
Since 2008 many ratepayers in rural areas say that they suffered under at least one totally incompetent Minister for Local Government and Communities and his similarly incompetent department. The list of failures is substantial.
Having previously been a Minister for Local Government I am sure you are aware of the degree of disregard in which the Department of Local Government and Communities has been held, along with a number of Shire Councils.
I am hoping that you, as the new Minister, can assist in finding an acceptable solution for the issue of a Shire Council being allowed to own and run a business that seriously affects other local businesses and places its community and ratepayers in serious jeopardy through financial harm.
Yours sincerely
David Taylor
Your ref :- THE FUTURE OF THE SHIRE OF YORK’S FORREST BAR & CAFE
I have written to your colleagues, Paul Papalia, and, John Quigley, questioning the legalities and legitimacy of the Shire of York Tavern, the Forrest Bar & Café.
Minister Papalia, through his portfolios, may have some interest in the destructive affects this tavern has had on tourism and the facts of how, when and why the Department of Liquor Licencing issued this licence that has caused so much controversy in the local community- and damage to local businesses operating in the beverage and food marketplace.
I have suggested to the Attorney General that the Shire of York Tavern Licence 6020142381 is a business licence to trade commercially in direct competition with private businesses owned and operated by the Shire’s own ratepayers, much to their financial detriment.
Therefore its actions as a commercial enterprise could be scrutinized under the terms of Section 46, Competition and Consumer Act 2010, the Trade Practices Act, Fair Trading Laws and laws pertaining to continuing trading in Insolvency.
As the Shire of York’s Forrest Tavern, now renamed the Forrest Bar & Café, was initially funded by the National’s Royalties for Regions scheme I have written to the Local Member for the Central Wheatbelt, Mia Davies, the party’s new leader.
Ms. Davies had claimed in the media that’ Royalties for Regions was the most scrutinized spend in Government’.
She went on to say that every project required a business case to be prepared by the department responsible for the spend.
In this case it would appear that the past Department of Local Government and Communities would bear part of the responsibility for the initial spend.
The project was then assessed by the Department of Regional Development (suggesting that as a regional project, including the Tavern, it was cleared to proceed by this department) and then passed on to Cabinet for final approval.
I informed Ms. Davies that the aggregate spend on this capital works project, including the tavern, was now in excess of $15 Million or a current $5,000 debt for every man, woman and child in the Shire of York.
Obviously she has not replied.
Much of the annual debt is created by the expenditure on, and continuing financial failure of the Forrest Bar & Café.
The result has been a massive increase in Shire domestic and commercial rates to the point of being extremely deleterious to the socio-economic welfare of the community, including a massive, negative impact on its future.
Given the current circumstances the enormous scale of percentage increases of these rates could continue well into the next decade.
It is my information that no adequate or proper business case, including whole of life costings for this project, was designed and produced by the Shire of York, with the onus being on the Shire President, his Council, the Chief Executive Officer and his deputy, the Finance Officer and the Planning Officer to have done so.
Should the Attorney General initiate an investigation and the tavern found to be in breach of any business laws and regulations, then those at the Shire of York at that time, responsible for ideation, approval and development of this project should be held appropriately accountable.
The senior officers of the Department of Local Government and Communities, being responsible to ensure good governance and financial accountability could also share a degree of culpability, as well as the Director General of Liquor Licencing, the Department of Regional Development and the previous Cabinet.
The current Council that was elected in 2015, and the Senior Local Government official, the Chief Executive Officer appointed at the beginning of 2016, have been fully aware of this ongoing serious financial position which commenced four (4) years ago and have only recently made any effort to try and alleviate the situation.
This was through public submissions, finally released at an Ordinary Meeting of Council , held on April 24, 2017, just four days ago.
Of the 12 submissions received only two made much sense. The first was to close the Café (Restaurant) and allow the sporting clubs to run their own bar under a leasing arrangement. The other was to lease the Forrest Bar & Café to a private business.
The argument here is who should be the Licencee? The answer should be not the Shire of York- and the Licence should not be a Tavern Licence.
The alternative action would be to place the Forrest Bar & Café into enforced receivership, bring in an independent liquidator to find an appropriate debt recovery solution. Personally I do not believe that the Shire of York as an entity has the capabilities to resolve this issue to the satisfaction of the majority of the community.
Obviously , if the Attorney General undertakes an investigation that provides evidence of serious wrongdoings under commercial laws then the possibility of finding a market for the Forrest Bar and Café could end- leading to its permanent closure.
Since 2008 many ratepayers in rural areas say that they suffered under at least one totally incompetent Minister for Local Government and Communities and his similarly incompetent department. The list of failures is substantial.
Having previously been a Minister for Local Government I am sure you are aware of the degree of disregard in which the Department of Local Government and Communities has been held, along with a number of Shire Councils.
I am hoping that you, as the new Minister, can assist in finding an acceptable solution for the issue of a Shire Council being allowed to own and run a business that seriously affects other local businesses and places its community and ratepayers in serious jeopardy through financial harm.
Yours sincerely
David Taylor
Shire of York Ratepayer
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