New division boundaries, Mayor refers herself to CCC and other Redland City Council news

New boundaries for Council election

Proposed Division boundaries , from Appendix C of the Change Commission’s Determination

The next Redland City Council election, on 19 March 2016, will be held using new electoral boundaries for the 10 councillor divisions.

Changes have been proposed by the Local Government Change Commission in a Proposed Determination report. The proposed changes to boundaries can be viewed with interactive mapping.

Objections to the proposed new electoral boundaries can be lodged with the Change Commission  on or before 5:00 pm on Monday 28 September.

Further information about the division boundary review process including haw to make an objection is available from this Electoral Commission Queensland webpage.

Changes to the electoral boundaries are required to ensure that the number of people in each division are approximately equal, within 10% of the average. As noted in its Determination Report, the Redland City Council declined the opportunity to make a submission, when it referred the need for a boundary review to the minister for Local Government in February 2015.

The Change Commission received submissions from three current councillors (Wendy Boglary, Lance Hewlett and Mark Edwards). Submissions were also made by three members of the public including Tom Taranto on behalf of Redlands2030 Inc.

Mayor refers herself to CCC

On Friday it was reported in the Brisbane Times and the Redland City Bulletin that Mayor Karen Williams had reported herself and the Council to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

The Bulletin said that the referral was “a bid to prove ongoing accusations of corruption and wrongdoing from critics are unfounded.” The Bulletin quoted the Mayor as saying: “They have attacked me and officers by claiming we are corrupt, without any proof whatsoever,”.

The Bulletin reports that “Claims have been made over several months, largely on social media, that the council and Mayor are not acting in the best interest of the city, have failed to follow due process and have favoured developers when making decisions.”

According to the Bulletin: “Cr Williams decided to refer herself to the CCC after council CEO Bill Lyon told her he could not refer the allegations being made because there was no evidence to support them.”

The Brisbane Times reported that Cr Williams was confident the CCC would clear her and council’s officers of any wrongdoing.

The Council admitted to the Brisbane Times that it had contacted the employer of at least one person regarding comments which the Council considered to be defamatory. It appears that the Council’s action may have put the person’s employment in jeopardy.

Redlands2030 Comment

In its report, the Redland City Bulletin raised the possibility that the Mayor’s CCC referral might be “little more than a political manouver”. It would be very disappointing if this was the case.

The Mayor chose to accept significant political donations prior to the 2012 Council elections and should not be surprised that many in the community are concerned and wary that political donations may influence the decisions of politicians.

Back in 2014 Redlands2030 formed a view that the quality and transparency of the City’s public administration should be  improved, so we have done a number of things including:

• Video recording of Council meetings which resulted in the Council deciding to make audio and video recordings freely available on its website
• Providing information about how councillors have voted in Council Meetings: Spotlight on Mayor & councillor voting records
• Investigating the operation of Council’s Development Industry Reference Group
• Publishing information about the various councillors’ declared political donations and conflicts of interest
• Facilitating a computerised PlanningAlerts service so that people can easily find out about development applications anywhere in Redland City

Draft City Plan consultation

Redland City Council begins public consultation about City Plan 2015

This week the Council commenced public consultation about its Draft City Plan.

The consultation period is from 14 September to 27 November.

Information can be accessed from the Draft City Plan webpage. Also, the Council is providing information at activities popping up around the City where you can view the plan and discuss it with council’s planning staff.

Council Meeting 23 September

The Council’s next General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 9 September commencing at 9:30 am. Here is a link to the meeting agenda.

Some items up for discussion are previewed below.

2018 Commonwealth Games

A report to Council recommends that it form the Redland City Council 2018 Commonwealth Games Liaison Committee, under the guidance of the Council’s Economic Sustainability and Major Projects Group. The membership of this Committee is proposed to be the following Council officers:

• Group Manager Economic Sustainability and Major Projects
• Principal Adviser Strategic Partnerships
• Economic Development Coordinator
• Group Manager Communications, Engagement and Tourism
• Principal Adviser Communications, Engagement and Tourism
• Service Manager City Sport and Venues
• Service Manager Strengthening Communities

257-259 Wellington Street, Ormiston

Council will consider an application for subdivision of a waterfront lot in Ormiston into two large residential blocks with some open space being dedicated to Council. The officers report notes that:

“The original proposal did require the removal of koala habitat trees, which conflicted with the Koala SPRP and that the applicant made a request to reclassify the site’s designation. However, through negotiations, the layout was amended and now there are no koala habitat trees that require removal.”

Community Facility for Working Against Violence Support Service (WAVSS)

Report by Redlands2030