No support for no confidence vote

QUEENSCLIFF councillor Donnie Grigau’s bid to have monitors appointed to oversee the Borough has fallen flat after the push failed to attract support from his colleagues.

Other councillors said using monitors would create a significant financial burden for the organisation and backed the council’s recent performance.

Cr Grigau brought a no confidence motion to last week’s council meeting that he said followed ratepayers raising a range of issues with him in recent weeks.

The motion listed a range of initiatives and strategies perceived as missteps by the borough, including its Active Transport Strategy, cost overruns of the multi-million-dollar Queenscliff Hub and its handling of Victoria Park camping permits.

While the motion drew a smattering of applause from the gathered audience, its reception among councillors was cooler.

Mayor Isabelle Tolhurst was its lead opponent, and said she believed appointing monitors would be an unnecessary and costly step.

Cr Tolhurst said she had received advice from the Local Government Association that indicated a monitor could cost up to $200,000 for a year, before factoring in time commitments from officers and delays in existing projects.

She said she also had doubts about how widespread the grievances included in the motion were among the broader Borough community.

“I’m not satisfied that we’re failing what the Act requires of us, and that monitors are appropriate.

There are many reasonable steps that can be taken by a councillor to respond to community concerns… I’m not satisfied that other mechanisms have been used and other things tried to satisfy the concerns of the community.

“Council is not perfect and we get it wrong sometimes, and we need to own that.

“But I wish to work with the community to do that and to improve our relationships. I don’t believe installing an outside bureaucrat at a premium is the way to get the results we want as a community.

“I see this at this point as a distraction from the work we’ve been elected to do.”

Cr Ross Ebbels said the problems raised often related to resourcing issues and cost escalations that were impacting all levels of government.

He also pointed to Borough’s strong record in meeting state government benchmarks and community satisfaction surveys.

Both councillors offered to meet with ratepayers that shared Cr Grigau’s concerns in a bid to find common ground.

Cr Robert Minty also voted against the motion.

Despite the loss, Cr Grigau doubled down at last week’s meeting on his claim that the council should consider third-party intervention.

“It’s quite obvious the community has lost trust, and trust must be rebuilt.

“With goodwill I remain positive we can rebuild trust in the community.

“It’s a shame it’s come to this. It’s sad that we can’t look within ourselves and criticise ourselves and say, ‘we can do better’.”