TOWN OF CAMBRIDGE —
MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT — SHOW-CAUSE NOTICE
794. Mr
W.R. MARMION to the Minister for Local Government:
I refer to the successful Supreme
Court action by the Town of Cambridge against the minister's show-cause
notice. What justification did the minister
have for his show-cause notice to the Town of Cambridge, given the great
expense to ratepayers for zero outcome?
Mr D.A. TEMPLEMAN
replied:
I am very happy to answer that
question from the shadow spokesperson for local government. His question was
almost as long as his contribution to the motion against me over an hour ago,
which was, as we know, significant.
I have a copy of the show-cause
notice with me. I am happy to table it. As I explained in the debate on the
motion moved earlier today, the show-cause
notice is specific in regard to the Local Government Act. Under section 8.15C(2)
of the act, if the minister of the day, he
or she, suspects the failure of a council to carry out its duties, there is
capacity for a show-cause notice to be given. In the letter, I state —
I suspect that the Council has failed
to ensure that Council members have an understanding of and observe their
respective roles, such that the Town's employees rather than Council
members undertake administrative and operational functions.
In that letter, I gave particulars
of some examples about which I had a suspicion that those matters had been
breached. I also highlighted in that letter a meeting held on 9 April this year
with regard to a motion that authorised one of the councillors to assist the
CEO in relation to employee arrangements. As I said in the debate earlier, the
role of employee matters and operational matters are those matters that are
under the jurisdiction of the CEO. I have said before, both in the debate
earlier today and in a previous debate on a motion moved by the member for
Churchlands, that this is where we have problems arising when there is a lack
of understanding with regard to the role of responsibilities and, indeed, an
overreach of those responsibilities. I had a suspicion, and that suspicion is
one example, that the council had not been operating appropriately in respect
of that. There is also reference to a council motion instructing the CEO to
provide to a councillor copies of all correspondence regarding employee
arrangements in response to COVID-19.
I
have said to members that there are issues and concerns about staffing at the
Town of Cambridge. They are additional issues that have led me to
believe that this action was appropriate. I sought legal advice from the
department to advise me, within the parameters of the section of the act, that
a show-cause notice was appropriate. That is what a Minister for Local
Government should do. A whole range of issues come before the minister and the
minister's office. People write to us about a whole range of things. At
the end of the day, in moving to issue a show-cause notice, the minister needs
to be satisfied that there is a suspicion. I was satisfied and I took that
action. Rather than formally responding in 21 days to the show-cause notice,
the council has a history of using legal advice—it does. That is its right
and it was its decision to use ratepayers' money to seek legal advice
and those costs. I did not make that decision. The council made that decision
and that is the course of action it took. It has a right to do that. I have
explained very clearly the reasons, through this show-cause notice, that formed
the basis on which I had a suspicion and a concern.
I again remind members that that is in stark contrast to the lack of action
when the former government was on this side of the house.
I seek to work with all local
governments in Western Australia. I respect local government—I do—and
I have said that consistently to the sector. However, it also means that we
have to continue to strive for ongoing improvement, ongoing transparency and
the delivery of quality services to the communities those local governments
serve. That needs to be underpinned by a very effective, modern and agile piece
of legislation, which we do not currently have in terms of its capacity to deliver those outcomes at this time. That is
why this government, through me as the minister, is reviewing the act.
That is why we have introduced legislation with three or four amendments to the
act to assist us in doing that. That is what
I will keep doing. I will keep making decisions. That is why I am here. The
show-cause notice is one of the mechanisms that the minister of the day
can act on regarding the concerns and suspicions the minister has that things
might not be right in a particular local government.