“Fact And Fiction”: Councillors Torch Lister

Werribee MP John Lister has come under fierce fire from Wyndham councillors Josh Gilligan and Mia Shaw, who unleashed a blistering attack over controversial comments he made in Parliament earlier this week.

The two released a joint statement today:

“We have become aware of a number of comments made under Parliamentary privilege by the Member for Werribee this week which contain significant inaccuracies, misleading inferences, and assertions that do not reflect the facts.

While robust public debate is part of democracy, it is important that commentary relating to Council governance and administration is grounded in truth, particularly at a time when the community expects stability, integrity and confidence in its institutions.

“We are sick and tired of State MPs playing by different rules. It’s time to bust some myths.

Parliamentary privilege allows MPs to blur the lines between fact and fiction to win votes, while Councillors are subject to no such privilege and are held to a much higher standard in the
Chamber.

It is important that we put the facts on record:

“Firstly, anyone with a google function on their computer will see that the Terms of Reference for the Wyndham Monitors are almost identical to the Terms of Reference for all other monitors across the State.

To suggest that any clauses are included due to Wyndham specific concerns is simply false – they are simply holistic, good housekeeping measures that you would expect anyone appointed to examine good governance to explore.”

Myth 1: IT Project Fallout Transparency

“Questions around the transparency of the Oracle project – we’re not going to
reprosecute this – even the State’s own integrity process, PAEC has moved on. In fact, when Wyndham Council sought clarity and expressed concerns in relation to concerning allegations by the Committee in relation to a number of questions Council took on notice, the Chair of PAEC and the broader committee did not respond.”

Myth 2: Budget Documents

“Inference that council budget documents may present government funding in a concerning or unclear way, implying there may be issues with how funding sources are represented in the draft budget.

Council follows the Australian Accounting Standards, the Local Government Act, and financial management principles when developing our Annual Budget. This is audited annually by the Victorian Auditor General.

The Member for Werribee has never aired these concerns until this
week’s speech in parliament. Ultimately, our Budget consistently passes annual VAGO audits.”

Myth 3: Sporting Funds

“That State funding and project acquittals require closer scrutiny, particularly
regarding community sport infrastructure spending.

The Member for Werribee may want to talk to Sport and Recreation Victoria. We checked with them this week and they confirmed there are no issues.

All acquittals have been done in line with criteria and contractual obligations with the relevant State agency or department.”

Myth 4: Developer Contributions

“That developer contribution funds may be redirected away from the communities
they were collected for Council has always conformed with legislation. If the State doesn’t like what its legislation says, it should change it.”

Myth 5: CEO Appointment 

“Perhaps of greatest concern is the Member for Werribee’s decision to infer wrongdoing in the reappointment of the CEO.

Using neutral, professional officers as fodder for political expediency is simply immoral. The CEO undergoes quarterly performance reviews, checking his performance against key
KPIs.

In February Councillors voted unanimously to reappoint him for five years, as was the recommendation of the independent member who sits on this Committee.

This is all in line with requirements under the State Government’s Local Government Act. In 2008, the Bracks Labor Government recognised the dangers of political interference in Councils by other levels of Government by banning Councillors from also holding the role of electorate officers and Ministerial staffers.

This State Government would do well to take a leaf out of their book and allow due process to play out.

Wyndham City Council is looking forward to working with Monitors Mr Jim Gifford and Ms Jo-Anne Mazzeo, who started this week, to restore the community’s confidence in Council.

As we commit to assisting the Monitors in their task, it is disappointing that MPs continue to use Parliamentary privilege to unfairly discredit and malign the reputation of Council more broadly.”