THAT DROUGHT MONEY FOR THE DROUGHT THAT LAUNCESTON JUST DID NOT SEE

Cast your mind back to August 2020 when Launceston's Mayor van Zetten was promoting the assertion that Council applied for drought relief funding for a drought Launceston just did not have “in good faith” and that the application was an ‘operational matter’ anyway. Thus it was a matter determined well away from the involvement of Councillors apparently. 

The application turns out to be a tad shonky given that all/most/some Councillors were apparently kept in the dark in regard to the application. Indeed, rumour has it that Council was invited to apply in order that ‘The Bass Electorate’ got some dosh. 

Most, if not all, Councillors ultimately apparently satisfied themselves that the application was indeed made in ‘good faith’ and based upon the appropriate evidence. So, individually and collectively, they assured themselves, and by extension their constituency, that the money coming to the city met all the appropriate criteria plus it met all the appropriate ethical and moral standards. But how?

You see “the Council has purchased a share of the Paterson Street Central car park”, as well as the former Birchalls building, to build a new bus interchange and undercover arcade linking through to the Brisbane Street Mall. But did Council do that? There was a couple of court cases where the judiciary had an alternate view. 

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In retrospect all of that is a rather curious concept, but one must remember that the city’s GM (AKA CEO) declared the matter to be confidential so yet again Town Hall’s MORAL COMPASS pointed to wherever the money was it seems – not where one goes for moral comfort. 

We really do need to remember that the then PM’s DROUGHTdosh it turns out was to be used for a spurious purpose and a project that has found the players thrashing it all out in court and basically to no avail. All of which leaves the hapless ratepayer paying up and apparently because she/he ‘does not need to profit from her/his investment in Council’.

Despite the Bureau of Meteorology’s published map indicating that not only wasn’t the municipality drought effected neither was anywhere else in Tasmania, so by what criteria did Launceston’s Town Hall cut the mustard?

Council asserted that “bureau data in the 20 months preceding the Council's application submission on December 2019 clearly showed a severe deficiency in rainfall for the region. Additionally, according to the Bureau, both the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 year figures showed that the kanamluka/Tamar River was well below average in terms of flow and were at equivalent levels to those recorded during the height of the millennial drought in Tasmania.” This seems at odds with the bureau’s map but for sure there is some bureaucratic spin to deal with all that. 

If you lived in Launceston, your emory is intact, and didn’t experience a drought – or even water restrictions – you probably need help of some kind given all that other Australians went through. Currently it is catastrophic flooding that the city missed out on but when the levies fail – and they will as they did in Lismore – Town Hall is likely to be looking for a grant to gold plate some taps in some “end of trip showers”.

Council deemed itself eligible for the $10Mil at that initial stage, and the grant application was submitted - it is as simple as that. Extraordinarily, the Council and the Coordinator General's Office are still working through the processes and planning around the acceptance of the grant and Town Hall says it will share further details with the public once this process is complete. 

However, the goal posts seem to have been shifted yet again. 

The news coming out of, well overheard in, a coffee shop in the Brisbane Street Mall is that the ‘investor’ who lost his court case is being helped by Council to buy the Historic Birchells Building to do his thing there AND the word is that the “DROUGHTdosh” is still in the mix. It is like this, three men can keep a secret just so long as two are dead.

How on earth could that money still be there?

ANYWAY if this building is to be sold 

why not to the highest bidder?

THE CONTENTIOUS DELEGATED AUTHORITY ISSUE AT LAUNCESTON'S TOWN HALL

 

Delegated authority cascades through the entire organisation, from the Council to the Executive Team; from the executive team to senior managers; and from senior managers to the implementing teams they manage. 

A Program Manager may be accountable for the financial management of a number of projects, each of which is led by a Project Manager, who manages a number of teams. The responsibility for day-to-day financial management tasks is delegated down through the line management structure. At the same time, the accountability process moves back up through the hierarchical structure as people report back on progress. 

Importantly, 'The Council' is ultimately accountable in law for the financial management of  Council expenditure.

Everyone in the organisation operates within the rules set by their level of delegated authority. At a project level, this means taking responsibility for a wide range of tasks that have been delegated, and being accountable to line managers for delivering results, monitoring progress and reporting on decisions made.

Some 'delegated authorities' pertain to emergency situations and some pertain to circumstances where 'officers' are required to act in situations where their expertise is required in order to achieve an appropriate outcome.

A copy of the 'Delegated Authorities' must be available at Town Hall to whomever wishes to inspect it and many Councils will provide a copy to members upon request for their research – that has not been always the case at Launceston's Town Hall. 

For Example see https://www.gcc.tas.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/provisions-for-gm-2020.pdf ... & https://www.launceston.tas.gov.au/Council/Legislation-and-Policy/Delegations-Register

Over time, Launceston Council has increasing engaged Aldermen/Councillors in contentiously 'delegating of their authority' upon the General Manager's (AKA CEO) initiative and currently to the extent where some claim the GM/AKA CEO's role currently distorts the city's governance.

This being the case there is an URGENT NEED to cancel ALL delegated authorities at Launceston's Town Hall and reinstate the ONES OF NECESSITY line item by line item. If there is to be INDIRECT REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY in the city, its 'credibility' needs to be restored and forthwith!

Under the Tasmanian Local Govt. Act 1993 the GM/AKA CEO has extraordinary powers – SEE SECTION 62/2 – that together with his delegated authority it can be claimed ultimately distorts the 'governance process' in inappropriate ways. Thus Launcestonians need to be mindful of all this when voting inn the Local Govt. Election.

BE AWARE AND BEWARE, THE QVMAG COLLECTIONS ARE AT RISK

 

Launceston ratepayers are generally unaware that when they vote for a 'COUNCILLOR' they are, by default, voting fo a QVMAG TRUSTEE.  Most 'Council candidates' are also unaware that, if elected, they become 'trustees' for the QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM & ART GALLERY (QVMAG) albeit that they might not have the appropriate skill sets. It is not their fault that they might not know as it is an anomaly put in place by 'incumbency management' and it is somewhat self-serving – essentially it justifies a bigger highly paid bureaucracy.

The GM/AKA CEO says that this is not the case but by DEFAULT it is and it is self-serving of him to assert otherwise!

lutruwitaTASMANIA’s musingplaces are among the worlds shrines to colonialism with the QVMAG being an exemplar in its nomenclature. That and Tasmanian ‘placedness’ lends a nuance to the island’s musingplaces – and the QVMAG more so than most. Governing a museum and art gallery requires special skill sets when the institution is as large and culturally significant as the QVMAG is. 

By necessity, musingplaces need governors/trustees with particular skill sets not by necessity held by elected Councillors OR General Managers.

Governance and 'management' are distinct from each other yet the current incumbency seems not to acknowledge this reality and apparently for reasons of some bureaucratically perverse expression of dilettantism arguably designed and devised to avoid true accountability. This must change given that in the end it is unsustainable!

looking back, ex-Launceston Alderperson, Rosemary Armitage MLC  is clearly a member of that cohort of Tasmanians and Launcestonians who are quite comfortable with the colonial legacy cum peri-colonial status of Tasmania’s, indeed Australia’s musingplaces as if the status quo is sustainable in a 21^st C context. 

Since that era there has been a CONGAline of Launcestonian who over time have distorted the QVMAG's 'governance' in ways that arguably has right now put the QVMAG's $230Million PLUS collections at risk due to the paucity of 'Council governance/trusteeship'.

Clearly, Rosemary Armitage MLC and that dilettante CONGAline have held the line that the QVMAG is not there to put on exhibitions to do with issues such as forestry, mining etc. rather they need to be showing people the treasures in their collections .  

Notably, Pierre-Auguste Renoir said that to his mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them. Somehow this encapsulates how the Launceston Council's 'incumbency' over time has imagined the QVMAG and sadly so. The institution in a 21st C context demands more than that!

However, the current City of Launceston Council is engaged in ‘very serious budget repair’ and is thus predisposes it to rid the city of what is perceived by management as being its non-core cost centres –the QVMAG being high on the priority list. So, out goes the baby with the bathwater! 

What can be observed in regard to the QVMAG is a situation at Launceston’s Town Hall that is a ‘mare’s nest’ – pun and double entendre intended – that is in urgent need of being unravelled”. This is something, that has been showing up in  ‘the QVMAG musingplace thinkers' petri dishes’ for decades and it needs to dealt with. 

Thus Launceston, right now, needs a Council that will be proactive and expeditious in 'separating' the QVMAG from 'Council management' and installing A BRAND NEW QVMAG GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT PARADIGM.

That might well be achieved by dispensing with the Town Hall incumbency at this Local Govt election. So, please vote carefully and please do not congratulate the incumbency with your vote.

CRUNCH TIME FOR LAUNCESTON TOWN HALL

Launceston Council constituents 

now have a choice to make. 

MORE OF THE SAME?

CHANGE CANGE CAN BE ACHIEVED!

Please ask your incumbent Councillors what they have achieved for the city and what they stood for up for. Then do a credibility check, look around you streets etc. and vote accordingly.

With 33 candidates, there is a message in this for the incumbency 

that VOTERS should think about looking ahead.

There is much more to be said about 'delegated authorities' at Town Hall!

Voting is compulsory for all enrolled voters, making it more important than ever to be familiar with the candidates. The election will be done completely via postal ballots which are being sent out from Monday, October 3. They are due back by Tuesday, October 25, when the polls close.

ADRIAN BARRETT ... Councillor candidate

Mr Barrett, who has a background in music events, has a focus on parks for the suburbs, supporting for local businesses, clearer accountability for grant funding and also looking at Launceston's suburbs.

THANE BRADY ... Deputy mayor and councillor candidate

Mr Brady has a focus on the shortage of sports grounds, investing in roads, improving transport, parking, and fixing rivers. He is president of North Launceston Football Club.

GEOFF BRAYFORD ... Councillor candidate

Mr Brayford has an engineering and business background. He was a member of Launceston Rotary and was state president of Engineers Australia in 2006. He previously worked for council as a city infrastructure manager.

ALEX BRITTON ... Councillor candidate

Mr Britton is a local business owner who co-owns Levee Restaurant. He wants to see council find a solution for the kanamaluka/Tamar and believes in "independent authority."

SUSIE CAI ... Councillor candidate

Ms Cai owns Launceston business Golden Brumby. She has a focus on "inappropriate development". Ms Cai will prioritise traffic congestion, Tamar River siltation and seeing equality in council.

ANDREA DAWKINS ... Deputy mayor and councillor candidate INCUMBENCY CANDIDATE

Ms Dawkins was first elected to council in 2014, she has a background in small business and is deputy chief officer for RSCPA Tasmania. Ms Dawkins wants to focus on working collaboratively with fellow councillors.

FENELLA EDWARDS ... Councillor candidate

Ms Edwards ran for the Senate earlier this year where she stood for forests and animals, increased housing availability and affordability. Her candidate statement was not supplied to the TEC. Ms Edwards has a background in the arts.

MATTHEW GARWOOD ...Deputy mayor and councillor candidate

Mr Garwood has a background in arts and music. His priorities for council are supporting business growth, CBD parking and the growth of Launceston including the northern suburbs.

JACOB GELSTON ... Deputy mayor and councillor candidate

Mr Gelston's focuses for council include a solution for the kanamaluka/Tamar area, housing affordability and homelessness, pushing for more fitness/lifestyle programs, and having more inclusive spaces.

DANNY GIBSON ... Mayor and councillor candidate INCUMBENCY CANDIDATE

Mr Gibson is council's incumbent deputy mayor. Mr Gibson's focus for council is to see more housing, a solution for kanamaluka/Tamar, and to leverage cultural institutions like the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and Princess Theatre.

TIM GUNTON ... Deputy mayor and councillor candidate

Mr Gunton has had a varied working life, working as a tradie, before spending 20 years at Telstra and the past 10 years working at NBN. He has a focus on the promotion of the many minor sporting clubs and providing recreation facilities for youth.

ALAN HARRIS ... Mayor and councillor candidate INCUMBENCY CANDIDATE

Mr Harris is a current councillor, and was elected in 2018. His focus is to fix the kanamaluka/Tamar River, improve personal safety, parking, reinvigorate the CBD and optimise the transport network.

SAM HAY ...Councillor candidate

Mr Hay has a background in business. His primary focus is connecting people with council, supporting hospitality businesses and finding solutions to homelessness.

ANDREW LOVITT ... Councillor candidate

Mr Lovitt is the chair of the Tamar Action Group. His focus is to see the Tamar River "have a seat at the table."

HUGH MCKENZIE ...Deputy mayor and councillor candidateINCUMBENCY CANDIDATE

Mr McKenzie has been an elected councillor for 11 years and has a background in financial accountability. He wants to support sustainable growth, and promote workable transport and traffic strategies.

LINDI MCMAHON ... Councillor candidate

Ms McMahon is a business owner. Her priority for council is to see improved safety measures, further development, capping rates, finding real solutions to homelessness, sound traffic management and clean up Tamar River.

ROSS MARSDEN ... Deputy mayor and councillor candidate

Mr Marsden wants to see opportunities for future generations. Mr Marsden wants to represent Launceston's diverse population, individuals, families and local business. He has a background in media and business.

JARAD MURRAY ... Deputy mayor and councillor candidate

Mr Murray is a property manager and small business owner. His candidate statement was not supplied to the TEC. Mr Murray stands for sustainable development and improved liveability in Launceston.

ANDREW PALMER ... Councillor candidate

Mr Palmer has a background in the arts and is a business owner. He wants to hear what people want to see in council and see Launceston thrive.

TENILLE PENTLAND ... Councillor candidate

Ms Pentland owns a local hotel and is a financial planner. Her focus is on strategic planning for sustainable growth and futureproofed design. Ms Pentland also looks to develop strategies around cost of living and homelessness.

JOE PENTRIDGE ... Councillor candidate

Mr Pentridge's focus is to prioritise heritage. He wants to see council held accountable for its actions and respecting heritage.

BRUCE POTTER ... Councillor candidate

Mr Potter is a business owner and owned the Royal Oak Hotel for 42 years. He wants to see Launceston have a fair rating system, clean healthy river and strong employment.

KRISTA PREECE ... Deputy mayor and councillor candidate INCUMBENCY CANDIDATE

Ms Preece is a current councillor who replaced Janie Finlay in 2021. Ms Preece stands for growth in Launceston and wants to see a safe community that supports lifestyle, educational institutions, businesses, tourism, health, culture, arts, sport and people.

GEORGE RAZAY ... Mayor and councillor candidate

Dr Razay is a local physician. His focus for council is to play an active role in public health through combating air pollution and traffic congestion, revitalising the city centre, supporting homeless people especially with the increased cost of living, and improve the Tamar River.

KIRSTEN RITCHIE ... Deputy mayor and councillor candidate

Ms Ritchie is the founder of Strike It Out. Her campaign focus is on affordable cost of living, cleaning the Tamar River, traffic management, developing drop-in centres and youth centres, and transparency in council.

CECILY ROSOL ... councillor candidate

Ms Rosol has a background in health and ran as a Greens candidate earlier this year. Her council priorities are town planning, housing stress, inequality and climate change. Ms Rosol also wants to see the community enjoy public spaces.

BOB SALT ... Mayor and councillor candidate

Mr Salt has a business background and was a former Jacqui Lambie Network Bass candidate. Mr Salt wants to see the Tamar River's health resolved and other waste issues looked into.

STEVE SAUNDERS ... Councillor candidate

Mr Saunders has worked in corporate IT. He wants to focus on city growth, housing and homelessness, Aboriginal land justice, promoting EV use, local food security, maintaining Launceston's heritage character and liveability, and the Tamar mud.

PAUL SPENCER ... Councillor candidate INCUMBENCY CANDIDATE

Mr Spencer is a current councillor. He runs a business and works as an electrician. Mr Spencer wants to see reduced parking fees, late night shopping and solutions to help kanamaluka/Tamar River.

JOHN SUITOR ... Councillor candidate

Mr Suitor has previously been on Circular Head Council and has a background in water authority and planning. He wants to see another bridge over the Tamar, better roads, and a safe walking track at Windermere.

NELSON TABE ... Councillor candidate

Mr Tabe is a music teacher. He wants to see Launceston preserve its heritage while still moving forward. Mr Tabe wants to see council be impartial and allow all voices to be heard.

OWNE TILBURY ... Councillor candidate

Mr Tilbury has a background in arts and business. His priority for running council is cleaning up the Tamar and making it a "recreational treasure."

TIM WALKER ... Mayor and councillor candidate INCUMBENT CANDIDATE

Mr Walker is a current councillor for Launceston and has background in media and politics. Mr Walker's focus for council is to increase affordable housing, bring life to the CBD, reduce parking costs, protect our built heritage, restore the Tamar, green our shopping precincts and improve community consultation.