Its been a long time between visits but it’s toilet time at Stirling again with a Lawley Ward Councillor having a rather hard time passing a petition. A petition requesting repairs for the toilet bloc at Yokine Reserve. Regulars will recall the Councillor has somewhat of a history of troubling toilet tales.
I will try and refrain further from the sophomoric in this item despite being flushed with opportunity, if only because elector disenfranchisement and a continuing erosion of democracy is hardly a laughing matter.
In extraordinary scenes at the last full Council meeting Mr Paul Collins attempted to submit a petition to Council via Ward Councillor Suzanne Migdale , Clr Migdale accepted the petition prior to the meeting and despite claiming in the Perth Voice not to have read the petition did, according to reports, at least “look at the words” before, well doing nothing really, certainly not tabling the petition as agreed beforehand with the petitioner.
https://perthvoiceinteractive.com/2021/11/26/security-called-in-petition-spat/
Two other petitions were tabled prior to public question time but the Yokine petition appeared to have been caught short so Mr Collins in Public Question Time quite fairly demanded his petition be returned to him so he could present it and was informed he would get it back at the end of the meeting.
Standing firm, the Petition was eventually returned to Mr Collins who wasted his third question in submitting the petition by which time the Mayor appeared to have run out of patience accusing Mr Collins of political grandstanding and refused to accept the petition.
Mayor Irwin sank further in suggesting that there were “people here with real concerns” , non it turns out with a 600 + signature petition in hand , 600 petitioners all clearly with nothing better to do than waste Councils time if the intent of the Mayors comments are to be taken as spoken if not officially recorded.
Now SCM does accept that it’s sometimes hard to go when everyone is watching …though others have suggested that this may be more a case of settling some unfinished business by the Councillor who only narrowly held her seat against Mr Collins in October by 109 votes … a number probably quite close to the number of votes that a Mayoral endorsement of a candidate is worth ²
It is therefore fortuitous that the meeting was live streamed because Mr Collins’ request to present the petition, and the Mayors refusal were, contrary to requirements, withheld from the minutes and were it not for the live stream this might soon have become a he-said/she-said affair.
Interested parties have been told that there is no requirement to record the question in the minutes though the Local Government Regulations firmly disagree ..
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ADMINISTRATION) REGULATIONS 1996 – REG 11
11 . Minutes, content of (Act s. 5.25(1)(f))
The content of minutes of a meeting of a council or a committee is to include —
…
(e) a summary of each question raised by members of the public at the meeting and a summary of the response to the question; and
…
Councillors will among many other things, vote on Tuesday on whether to accept the minutes of the last meeting including as it were the missing minute, whilst being advised otherwise deliberately withholding information required to be recorded in the minutes is contrary not only to the Local Government Regulations but more importantly the State Records Act and we sincerely hope that all Councillors will be made aware of this.
Stirling clearly have a problem with those pesky Acts and Regulations
Prior to the gazetting of the City of Stirling’s undemocratic and legislatively flawed Standing Orders (The Meeting Procedures Local Law) Lawley petitions might normally be presented by a Councillor from a different Ward, this now however would be an offence against the recently updated Local Law and any Councillor trying to uphold their responsibilities as laid out in the Local Government Act would now be breaching the Standing Orders and face the wrath of the Standards Panel (and the costs of that appearance) disenfranchising not only electors but Councillors themselves if guilty of doing the right thing, upholding the intent of the Local Government Act and submitting the petition themselves.
This is probably why the Parliamentary Committee on Delegated Authority raised a motion in Parliament on the 18th November to disallow the updated Local Law .. (a matter to be considered by Council BEHIND CLOSED DOORS on Tuesday)
” I give notice at the next sitting of the house I will move that pursuant to the Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation the City of Stirling Meeting Procedures Local Law of 2021 Published in the Gazette on 7th September 20201 and tabled in the Legislative Council, on 14th September 20201 under the Local Government Act 1995 be and is hereby disallowed “
Oh, and if you watched the video you might want to chip in to buy a stool (no pun intended) or stepladders or similar for security to stand on next time when approaching Mr Collins at the dias, oh yes I forgot! security were called given there was a danger of the democratic process unfolding before the CEO’s eyes so the meeting was adjourned for 5 minutes, Mr Collins was however allowed back into the gallery when the meeting resumed.
It’s one thing for the Mayor to bend the City’s Local Laws to support a sitting Councillor in grave danger of losing their seat, it is another altogether to join with the Councillor in the disenfranchisement of some 600+ ratepayers.
When people ask me what Stirling do well – the first answer I usually give is Public Question Time because that is usually true, commendably so – this is the second time however in the last few months where significant numbers of ratepayers have been disenfranchised by behaviour that is if not contrary to the Act, is nonetheless reprehensible.
1 Clr Migdale also previously foreshadowed an alternative motion noting in relation to Beaufort St toilets thatcommunity consultation will be undertaken as part of the removal processand further reports be made to Council regarding concernsin relation to the removal of the public amenity, in other words knock it down first, ask questions later. http://stirlingcommunitymatters.com/local-government-reform-a-firm-number-2-to-toilets-at-stirling/
2 According to the Minister for Local Government in a recent ABC radio forum Mayoral endorsement of candidates is "not on" , a fact that if it troubled Mayor Irwin - did not show despite sitting with the Minister on that forum panel.
