From the Mayor: 12 September 2023
Published on 12 September 2023
Off the back of some scurrilous and misleading public discourse in the media and across Facebook, I felt it necessary to address the community.
First and foremost, I would like to respond to the events that unfolded in today’s Extraordinary Council Meeting.
In what should have been a straightforward administrative process to ratify the 2021/2022 Annual Financial Statements, events unfolded in today’s meeting that were not in the public interest.
Those Councillors who were most opposed to the use of audio-visual technology for meeting attendance sought to use it based on insufficient reasoning. Dissatisfied after losing the vote to allow a Councillor to attend today’s meeting via video-link, Councillors Boehm, Browning and Lamont staged a walk out and left the meeting. Their behaviour will delay the process by a further two weeks.
In my opinion, this behaviour is nothing more than political theatre intended to prolong & amplify the negative publicity around what is an administrative correction of financials from previous years.
It’s unfortunate that representatives from the Office of the Auditor General were witness to this, and I have instigated a formal apology on behalf of Narrabri Shire Council for the waste of time and resources.
Ahead of today’s Extraordinary Council Meeting, comments were made to the media regarding Council’s financial situation.
It is abundantly clear that a Councillor has misread Financial Statements and my assumption from this point is that they have mistaken a $3 million deficit for what is a $3.2 million profit.
Regarding a call for an investigation, the historical issues identified during the Audit are known by ALL Councillors and have been discussed (and debated) at length, hence why the Financial Statements were signed off (and approved) 8-1 at the previous Council Meeting on 22 August 2023 (and placed on Public Exhibition).
The events that took place today were not constructive for Council or the community, and as Mayor I will continue to work collaboratively with all Councillors, Council staff and Government Agencies to ensure that due process is adhered to accurately.
- Ron Campbell, Mayor