ACCORDING to Cr Jemma Tribe (SCR Letters March 23), two councillors of vastly different political views, “hijacked” a meeting and behaved in a way that breached the Code of Conduct. It’s an interesting question: just how many Team Gash members would be sufficient for their voice to be heard?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It is pleasing, however, that at least one of their party members has read some of the Councillor Code of Conduct. Except obviously for section: 8.12: “You must not make allegations of suspected breaches of this code at council meetings or in other public forums”.
Last time Team Gash tried to “get Guile” with a code of conduct investigation, it cost ratepayers $15,000 and found only that if council were to continue on that course it could, like Shellharbour Council, wind up being sacked (as was reported in the South Coast Register at the time). For non-Gash party members, complaints are dealt with by the general manager where he, at no cost to the ratepayer, promises to counsel the accused as to their behaviour. We can all see the results of that.
The real issue that Cr Tribe avoids answering is how all Team Gash councillors can simultaneously decide that giving up any rights belonging to our ratepayers to ensure that the Shaolin project commences is a good result. This is a free gift for a foreign developer like we’ve never seen. With this decision, all leverage at law that our city had, has literally been given away.
Both Cr Tribe and I have experience when it comes to the inner workings of the Gash political juggernaut, yet since Cr Gash funded Cr Tribe’s election, only one of us can honestly say we are “independent”.
Cr A. Guile,
Bomaderry.