Half a million dollars wasted in Huon debacle

 Minister sat on his hands while dysfunction continued

 Gutwein completely hands-off during critical mediation period

 Ratepayers should not have been saddled with sorry state of affairs

Half a million dollars has been wasted while Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein sat on his hands in response to the dysfunctional situation at the Huon Valley Council.

Shadow Local Government and Planning Minister Madeleine Ogilvie said today’s decision to sack the entire council is a direct result of Mr Gutwein’s refusal to work constructively to resolve the conflict.

“Mr Gutwein wasted $500,000 of taxpayer’s money and delayed taking decisive action for three months to reach this point,” Ms Ogilvie said.

“To sack a council is an extreme measure but Mr Gutwein himself has admitted that through this process he met with the Huon general manager exactly once.

“He should have been around the table trying to help the council mediate its way through this debacle.

“But the fact that he did not do that is indicative of his hands-off approach and shows he is incapable of good management of local government, which is critical to ensuring the strength of local communities.

“When things go wrong, it is the job of the Local Government Minister to work with people to get relationships back on track.

“Mr Gutwein has failed fundamentally in that job.

“Additionally, Huon Valley residents could be forgiven that his move today is a precursor to forced council amalgamations – something he must now rule out.”
Madeleine Ogilvie MP Shadow Local Government and Planning Minister