Margot Giblin
The first thing this new committee needed to do was elect a Chairman.
Hobart City Council
Development and Environmental Services (DESC)
Committee Meeting (Open)
Monday 5 March
5pm
Present:
Deputy Lord Mayor Eva Ruzicka, Aldermen Darlene Haigh, Helen Burnet
The first thing this new committee needed to do was elect a Chairman.
Ruzicka nominated Haigh.
There were no other nominations.
With a unanimous decision Darlene Haigh became Chair of DESC.
The reason a new Chair was needed is that this committee’s previous Chair, Lyn Archer, has been on Leave of Absence since July 2006.
The gap he left became ripe ground for sorting real and unreal, old and recent slights, hurts and put downs. Personal preferences, likes and dislikes overshadowed objective decision making. The result was that Council business was not being done efficiently and in order to get things back on track a new committee was convened last week.
Alderman Darlene Haigh now took her position at the head of the table but a question for the General Manager first, from Ruzicka.
Was this, Ruzicka wanted to be sure, a permanent position?
Brent Armstrong: Correct.
He’s a man of few and pertinent words.
The newly ensconced Chair opened with:
Welcome to this very unusual meeting. We have an all women committee and it will be a very good committee.
It may well be but its distinguishing feature was not uniform gender.
In the time it often took the previous committee to shuffle and shove each other towards or away from the Chair this one’s agenda was well under way. The meeting was over in an hour.
The committee considered applications, listened to representors and applicants, questioned them, discussed the answers and their own concerns and made recommendations.
Differences of opinions, requests for clarification and reiteration of key points were handled within the parameter of relevance.
It was reasonable behaviour, not gender, that made this committee noteworthy.
NB: According to the General Manager, Brent Armstrong, the DESC committee does not make final decisions on any of the planning matters before it. The committee’s recommendations are taken to full Council meetings. There they are debated and the decisions made by all aldermen present are acted on.
All aldermen therefore do have the opportunity to speak and vote on all agenda items coming before them from each of the six committees.
Recommendations agreed on tonight will be debated and decided on next Tuesday 13th March at 5pm at the Open Council Meeting.
