Wanneroo City Council suspended

12/11/97

The Wanneroo City Council has been suspended.

In Parliament this morning, Local Government Minister Paul Omodei announced that the elected councillors had been suspended and five commissioners appointed to replace them in accordance with the Local Government Act.

The commissioners, who will take control of the affairs of the City of Wanneroo immediately, are:

·      Campbell Ansell, an accountant and company director, as chairman;

·      Harry Morgan, company director, as deputy chairman;

·      Rob Rowell, former president of the Western Australian Municipal Association;

·      Wendy Buckley, a barrister; and -

·      Marilyn Clark-Murphy, a lecturer in finance at Edith Cowan University.

Mr Omodei said that the suspension of the council and appointment of commissioners would not affect the delivery of services to ratepayers and residents.

From the point of view of the public, it would be business as usual except that the commissioners would replace the elected councillors.

Mr Omodei told Parliament that having considered the Royal Commission Report tabled yesterday and other departmental reports and having taken the advice of the Solicitor General, he had decided that it was inappropriate for the council to continue as the governing body of the city. He had therefore suspended the council under Section 8.19 of the Local Government Act.

The Royal Commissioner, Mr Davis, said in a special addendum to his report that he was of the view that undesirable attitudes were so entrenched in the culture of the City of Wanneroo that external intervention on the matters referred to in his report, and close supervision on ethics and accountability generally would be required for some time yet.

Mr Omodei also cited two other recent reports into council affairs:

·      a report commissioned by him dated September 9, 1997 found that the council's handling of a development approval for Lot 560 Manakoora Rise, Sorrento, in 1996, could only be described as grossly incompetent; and -

·      a departmental report dated January 8, 1997 in relation to the amendment to the Town Clerk's contract of employment in 1995 found that due process as established in law had been treated with apparent contempt and that such incidents had significant implications for the council's overall attitude to accountability.

Mr Omodei said that his suspension of the council was not the final step in proceedings.

The Local Government Act required him to establish an inquiry to recommend whether the suspension should become dismissal or whether the council should be reinstated.

The Minister would establish that inquiry as soon as possible and he would expect to have its report before mid-February.

The inquiry would be conducted by a three-member team consisting of a chairman appointed by the Minister, a person nominated by the WA Municipal Association, and a lawyer agreed upon by the Minister and WAMA.

Mr Omodei said that Wanneroo residents could have full confidence in the ability of the appointed commissioners to conduct the affairs of the city.

The chairman, Mr Ansell, had extensive experience in accountancy and management at the highest levels.

Mr Morgan and Mr Rowell had both business and local government experience and until last night when they resigned they were respectively councillors of the City of Perth and the Town of Cottesloe.

Ms Buckley and Ms Clark-Murphy had qualifications and experience in the law and financial management.

"Together they make a very strong team and I am confident that they will carry out the management reform that is so clearly necessary at Wanneroo," Mr Omodei said.

Remuneration for the commissioners has been set at $11,833 per month for the chairman, $5,900 per month for the deputy and $4,900 per month for commissioners.

The suspension of the council will have no bearing on the Local Government Advisory Board's current assessment of a proposal to split the council.

THE COMMISSIONERS:

Campbell Ansell FCA, MAICA, (54) of Cottesloe, began his accounting career with Arthur Anderson & Co in 1961 and had extensive audit and corporate investigatory experience in Perth, Stockholm, The Hague, Singapore and Melbourne until 1979, when he started his own accounting practice under the name Ansell Price and Atkins. The firm grew from three people to 24 by 1984, when it was invited to join the national partnership of Duesburys. At various points Mr Ansell was chairman of the Duesburys national audit committee, represented Australia on the international audit committee, and was elected national chairman of Duesburys. In 1992 his firm joined the Horwath Australia association. He left the firm on July 1, 1997 to pursue a career as a professional company director. He is chairman of the Medical and Health Research Infrastructure Council and a member of the Lotteries Commission audit committee.

Harry Morgan AM (68), of Perth, is a company director with extensive community involvement, including being elected to the Perth City Council in May 1995. He is a life member of the WA Football League, a dual Paul Harris Fellow in the Rotary Foundation, and a Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star - First Class (a Swedish Knighthood) for his continuing services as Honorary Consul of Sweden for WA. He is president of the Royal Flying Doctor Service WA Section and an Australian Councillor, as well as being past president of the Rotary Club of Perth and chairman of the Horticultural Produce Commission of WA.

Rob Rowell, B.Comm. (50) of Cottesloe has been a local government councillor since 1980. He was president of the Local Government Association from 1989 to 1991, and was on the executive of the WA Municipal Association from 1989 to 1997, including being vice-president 1990-92 and president 1994-96. He was a member of the Structural Reform Advisory Committee and is currently chairman of the Local Government Advisory Board. He has been on the Municipal Waste Advisory Council since 1991, was chairman of the Recycling Blueprint Committee in 1992 and has been the Australian Local Government Association's delegate to national waste management and recycling conferences.

Marilyn Clark-Murphy, M.Bus. (Financial Management and Economics) (46), of The Vines, is a lecturer in finance at Edith Cowan University, teaching both undergraduate and post-graduate students. She has an on-going consultancy with Porter Western Ltd - Stockbrokers and was an associate director of the firm from 1987-92. She has had wide experience in business management in the UK and Australia, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Management, Mensa, Arts Trust Australia (WA) and the Stirling Players.

Wendy Buckley, B.Juris, LLB(Hons), (34) of Winthrop, has been a Barrister at the Independent Bar since June 1994 and was previously a solicitor with Parker and Parker from 1987 to 1994. Her legal experience covers a wide range of commercial, industrial, property and contract advice and litigation.

Media contact: Hugh Ryan 9366 0200