Council grounds plans for mayor’s overseas trip

CITY of Greater Geelong councilors have voted against sending the city’s mayor and a senior officer on an international business trip that would have cost ratepayers $25,000.

In September, Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan was scheduled to visited Korean city Changwon to advance a shared memorandum of understanding and meet with leaders of Hanwha Corporation; Istanbul, Turkiye for the UNESCO Creative Cities network annual meeting; and an “inspiration tour” to Kortnijk, Belgium and Dundee, Scotland.

Hanwha Defence Australia is building a manufacturing facility at Avalon Airport for self-propelled howitzers and military vehicles – and is in the running for another multi-billion-dollar contract – while Geelong is one of just 43 global cities in the UN-backed City of Design program.

A report to the council this week said the two-person trip was essential for the city to maintain its relationships with the international bodies.

But a majority of councillors said the proposed visit was in poor taste, coming just a month after the city faced intense criticism for its frugal 2023-24 budget that reduced spending on projects and services due to financial constraints.

Cr Melissa Cadwell said she believed the trip didn’t have “any tangible benefits for the city or its residents”.

“At a time when we ripped the guts out of the funding many programs that residents hold dear, it’s an insult to those same residents.

“This $25,000 could be far more usefully spent on public infrastructure projects that improve the lives of our residents.”

Cr Jim Mason said he supported the premise of the travel but could not support the trip.

“It would have been a great opportunity to pay our respects to Korea.

“So I am very disappointed that we’re in a situation where we have severe budget constraints, and that we have other critical social issues such as food insecurity and homelessness to contend with.”

But those in favour of the opportunity said the city risked undoing its good work in recent years that had positioned it as a global player.

Cr Sullivan acknowledged the international travel was a “contentious issue” but said strengthening global relationships was key to securing international events and investment that brought direct benefit to the city.

“When we attract those meetings, we’ve had delegates [from] all around the world to our doorstep.

“And that we’re not willing to do the same, that sends a message… that we’re willing to take this information when we’re not willing to give back.”

Cr Anthony Aitken said he also feared the consequences of not honouring the city’s agreements.

“We’re actually saying we’re happy to be part of the city design, but we’re not going to honour our commitment to actually attend the AGM.

“We won’t honour our MOU with Changwon, and the implications for that are severe for my community… [that] is desperate for employment opportunities, new investment and for having hope.”

Councillors Cadwell, Mason, Peter Murrihy, Sarah Hathway and Belinda Moloney all voted against the planned visit, with Sullivan, Aitken and Stephanie Asher in favour.

Cr Aitken moved an alternate motion that would have removed the Belgium and Scotland part of the journey to save about $5,000, which lost with the same division of votes.