Glenorchy City Council

The Hodgman Liberal Government has established a Board of Inquiry to investigate the Glenorchy City Council.

Since the October 2014 council elections, there has been considerable and ongoing public concern regarding governance at the Council and this Board of Inquiry will investigate those issues.

The operational performance of the Council in delivering services and managing its finances appears sound. The Council has a Strategic Plan and is getting on with the job of delivering it, and the level of engagement the Council has with ratepayers is good.

Against this backdrop, it is readily apparent that significant divisions continue to exist within the Glenorchy City Council including between elected members and between elected members and senior staff.

The Government’s concern is that poor relationships could impact on good governance and are not conducive to good decision making. They are a potential threat to the ability of the Council to continue to deliver good outcomes in the interest of ratepayers.

There have also been a number of complaints made in respect of alleged compliance issues with the Local Government Act.

Attempts at reconciliation have failed, including the use of a professional conciliator.

Recently, I met with the Mayor and the General Manager and also a delegation of Glenorchy City Aldermen. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to resolve the matters that confront the Council at that time.

Therefore, the Government is of the view that without intervention there is no path to overcome the issues confronting the Council and that ultimately without resolution there will be a negative impact on the community and the ratepayers.

The Government has established a Board of Inquiry under the local Government Act.

The Board of Inquiry will have two commissioners, Barry Easther and Lynn Mason.

Both Mr Easther and Ms Mason have extensive experience in local government, operational, policy and regulatory settings, and are well suited for the task.

The Board of Inquiry will report back to the Government by 15 February 2016.
Peter Gutwein, Minister for Planning and Local Government