COMMUNITY NEWS
Council Corner
LIFE is starting to return to normal for the Cassowary Coast, if today’s planned Council meeting is indicative. Across the Coast, community organisations are preparing and submitting applications for Community Assistance Grants from Council. Cardwell Chamber of Commerce plan to conduct with Council funding a Cardwell Business and Tourism Expo, Far North Freefall Skydiving Club will conduct this year a five day event/competition. In addition the 37th Innisfail and District Dance Competition will return along with Innisfail Town ‘Open’ Celebration events, Orchid Expos, and El Arish Cenotaph Park Improvements to coincide with their Centenary Celebration. In total over $39,000 in community based grants will be submitted to today’s Council meeting for approval. In preparation for next financial year’s budget, Council will present their proposed Schedule of Fees and Charges. In summary: there are 839 fees and charges with 463 remaining unchanged or reduced. A total of 51 fees have \been discontinued and 53 new fees and charges to be added to the schedule. Pensioner discounts are now introduced for dog registrations. The first desexed dog registration for a pensioner is free and a small fee for any additional dog. The Queensland Government waste disposal levy increases have been deferred for an additional six months, increasing from $75 per tonne to $80 per tonne effective January 1, 2021. Perhaps the most interesting matter on the agenda, and likely to be subject of great debate throughout the region is 5.4 Remuneration Tribunal Report, to be presented by Michaela Johnstone, Corporate Governance Officer. The recommendation accompanying the
report is as such: “That Council resolves to adopt the remuneration schedule as determined by the Local Government Remuneration and Discipline Tribunal in accordance with Section 244 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 or resolves to adopt a lesser amount.” The recommendation is that remuneration for Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors be increased by 2% from July 1, 2020. This increase will see the Mayor receive $133,196 pa, Deputy Mayor $83,247 pa and Councillors $70,759 pa. Remuneration increases were a hotly debated issue in previous years, both within the Chamber and on social media. To place into context the wages received by a Councillor are less than those received by many of the Council administrative workers. Our Councillors are placed in the firing line every day by the community and held accountable, as they should by higher levels of government. It is essential for our region’s development to attract the very best and brightest Council employees and Councillors should be no different. We need experienced leaders from our Community, prepared to place their businesses on hold for a minimum of four years and serve our community. The remuneration should be appropriate and in proportion to the level of accountability the community expects from our leaders. The Cassowary Coast is classified as a category 3 Council and remuneration is the same for similar Councils, including Noosa, Whitsunday, Tablelands and 11 other similar profiled Councils. A Councillor in Cairns will receive $108,222 per annum. Residents can view a live stream of Council’s meetings, visit www.cassowarycoast.qld. gov.au/live-stream.
Something fishy FORMER Cassowary Coast Regional Councillor Ben Heath has been found to have engaged in misconduct in office for a third time after failing to record his involvement in a seafood business and relationship with the owner on his register of interests. The Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) launched an investigation after receiving a referral from the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) about Cr Heath’s alleged interest in Innisfail Seafood. The OIA found that prior to being elected in 2016, Cr Heath began a personal relationship with the owner of the business and was extensively involved in its operation both before and during his term in office. While Cr Heath had been a paid employee for about six months he also worked in an unpaid capacity from April 2016, the month after he was elected, until he purchased Innisfail Seafood mid-way through the council term in July 2018. During that time he performed a range of duties such as picking up supplies, serving customers, and marketing activities which included promoting the business on Facebook. One post showed him working behind the counter and in another he promoted the price of prawns. While Cr Heath did not dispute his involvement in Innisfail Seafood, he argued it was “gratuitous and no benefit was received”. He contended that he was only required to record his financial interest in the business on his register of interests once he had purchased it.
But the Councillor Conduct Tribunal (CCT) found Cr Heath had engaged in misconduct as his involvement with the business constituted a ‘non-financial interest' and the failure to record it was a “dereliction of his responsibilities”. The CCT found that even before purchasing Innisfail Seafood Cr Heath’s activities were directed towards the promotion, advancement and operation of the business and that promotional activities showed he was integrally linked to it, thereby raising a real, perceived or potential conflict of interest between his private life and his duties as a councillor. The CCT also found that Cr Heath demonstrated his awareness of the interest, and his statutory obligations to act in the public interest, having declared a material personal interest at two committee meetings in 2017 which considered an application by Innisfail Seafood. It ordered him to make a public admission of his misconduct at a council meeting within 90 days of receiving the order, noting that registers of interests exist to promote transparency in decision making and that councilors must make full and accurate disclosures of all financial and non-financial interests. The CCT ruling is the third misconduct finding against former Cr Health who was sanctioned in 2019 for failing to record a personal interest on his register of interests and failing to inform a council meeting of a personal interest in a matter before council. Cr Heath was defeated at the recent local government election.
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Cassowary Coast Independent News, Thursday, June 11, 2020 Page 7
