The internal fighting and breakdown of order at Canterbury Council requires two immediate responses.
The first is the Local Government Minister must intervene to issue performance improvement orders to the Council, as well as appoint an independent advisor.
The second is there needs to be a thorough and prompt investigation of the allegations and counter-allegations by the Department of Local Government and ICAC.
Greens MP and Local Government Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“The disorder and chaos at last night’s Canterbury Council meeting was simply unacceptable.
“The actions of a majority of Councillors in pushing to sack the General Manager, in the face of advice that their motion and actions were illegal, risks exposing ratepayers to ongoing and expensive litigation.
“I support the calls of Greens Councillor Linda Eisler for an immediate independent investigation of the allegations and counter-allegations at Canterbury Council.
“This investigation can’t be done at a council level and needs the urgent assistance of ICAC and the Department of Local Government.
“While all of this is happening there has been nothing but silence and inaction from the Local Government Minister.
“Parliament has granted the Minister extensive powers to issue councils with performance improvement orders and to appoint independent advisors to address this very kind of problem. The Minister must use these powers.” Mr Shoebridge said.
You can find out more about this issue and see Greens Councillor Linda Eisler’s media release here.