Those who brought their popcorn to the SJ Shire’s annual General Electors’ Meeting on Monday night in anticipation of high drama would have left feeling a little short-changed.
The meeting was remarkably tame, and attendance was relatively low considering the sheer weight of grievances hurled at the shire from some sections of the community online.
Nevertheless, feathers did fly on a few occasions.
Bill Denholm said he had come within an inch of introducing a motion calling for a vote of no-confidence against CEO Paul Martin who he believed had lost control of his team. But he’d had a change of heart last week when Mr Martin role modelled ‘real leadership’ by personally stepping in to fix some issues over the netball courts revamp.
While the shire’s annual report celebrated its recent victories, Mr Denholm’s own report card for the shire wasn’t quite so rosy.
“This shire is in a bad state of affairs: Roads have deteriorated drastically; We used to have a Waste Transfer Station, now we don’t, and there’s lots of illegal dumping going on which is costing the shire; No major facilities have been built; We appear to be outsourcing a lot of the work; And events such as Australia Day and Harmony Day are not being supported by ratepayers with their attendance. That money could be better spent elsewhere,” he said.
Director of Corporate Services Frazer Sullivan took the opportunity during his presentation to highlight the financial difficulties faced by the shire when trying to fix roads: the Cities of Gosnells and Armadale have a comparatively similar total length of road assets to maintain as the shire, and yet, whereas Gosnells’ and Armadale’s collected annual rates total over $80 million each, SJ (with a population a third the size of its northern neighbours) has only $32 million to draw from.
“Approximately 40 percent of our roads are in poor to very poor condition,” Mr Sullivan said.
“And a further 30 percent is in just ‘fair’ condition. So that means 70 percent of our roads are under pressure. And I think everybody here, and certainly on Facebook knows that roads are a major issue in this shire.
“We essentially need $315 million to fix the problem, with a $30 million a year rate base.
“And there’s about $10 million in grants available every year to fix that $315 million problem. But to go along with that you need to match the funding. And don’t forget, these are all competitive programs.”
Early on in the evening, Belinda Dunkley and Shire President Rob Coales had a heated moment when Ms Dunkley accused the shire of ‘ghosting’ the library services and staff in its annual report.
“Going back for the last seven years, the library services have been included in the annual report,” Ms Dunkley said.
“Considering this facility is the premier facility in this shire, I would like to know why this has been omitted from the annual report.
“Libraries provide a crucial role in communication, community engagement, digital access, and they provide these services, particularly in a time of cost-of-living crisis, for the most vulnerable people in our community. Yet the shire has neglected to celebrate the efforts of those staff members.”
CEO Paul Martin explained that the shire had tried something new this year, but that he was happy to take Ms Dunkley’s feedback on board for next year’s report.
President Coales admitted that mistakes had been made in this year’s report: “No one’s perfect,” he said. But he said staff had pivoted to correct anything brought to their attention and that there were plenty of opportunities to do so.
“And no one came forward to mention the library,” he said. “If everything was included, the document would be bigger than 25 encyclopedias.
“Irrespective of people shaking their heads, and thinking that there’s some type of conspiracy here with the annual report, I’m damn proud of this annual report.
“I’m not going to put my name, my integrity or my position as the first directly-elected shire president to a document that is wrong.
“Stop worrying about your own petty little missions and look at this document for what it is.”
Later, Ms Dunkley introduced a motion asking officers to change the online version of the annual report to include a library services report, which was overwhelmingly supported by community members present.
A third key moment of the night came when Justin Warren rose to introduce a motion on behalf of the more-than-300 local community members who petitioned the shire to “spare no expense in ensuring the Oakford Fire Station project progress without further delay” in December last year.
“In 2021, after years of inaction, Oakford’s volunteer firefighters took the extraordinary action of appealing directly to the state government for a new fire station, highlighting the unacceptable reality that they were operating from private land,” he said.
“Since then, despite funding commitments, and land being made available, this project has been plagued by poor oversight, design mismanagement, escalating costs, and continued delays, most of which stem from the failures of the shire’s administration and process.
“Even after council approved a contractor in December last year, the contract remains unsigned. And costs have now increased by approximately 30 percent.
“This isn’t just a project delay; this is a failure that places both our volunteers and community at risk. It is time for the shire to take accountability.”
His motion was for council to note the community’s “deep dissatisfaction” with the shire’s “ongoing mismanagement of the Oakford Fire Station project”, and it was supported unanimously by those in attendance.
Other motions brought by electors which were passed included:
- For the shire to write to relevant health authorities to ask for the suspension of the mRNA vaccines until they are proven to be 100% safe.
- That council publishes detailed information when awarding contracts, in line with other LGAs.
- To request the state government notifies the shire of all water bore licences and registrations below 100,000kL.
- That council rethinks postal voting.
- Finish the Jarrahdale Rd footpath
- Investigate the cost of Cr Mack’s alternative motion for the Waste Transfer Station
- Purchase two multipurpose drones and train staff to use them
- Compile a report into traffic issues around Court Grammar School
- Investigate the provision of in-house traffic management services
- Fund all needed verge tree pruning, and road shoulder treatments on south ward roads.
- Traffic calming measures along Jarrahdale Rd
- A roundabout at the intersection of Hopeland Rd and Karnup Road
- Open Q&As, PCFs, workshops and forums to the public, and post recordings online.
- Increase retention of trees during subdivision processes, and road upgrades
- Finish the construction of Elliot Road
