Questions Silenced Over $750K Council Spend on Venue Linked to Councillor’s Organisation

A Wyndham councillor who also leads a not-for-profit organisation recently occupying the Old Shire Offices in Werribee voted in favour of a $750,000 upgrade to the historic building—without declaring a conflict of interest—raising concerns over governance, accountability, and transparency.

Councillor Jenny Barrera, CEO of the Wyndham Community and Education Centre (WCEC), voted to adopt the 2025–26 Council Budget, which included the capital works funding for the Old Shire Offices at 49 Watton Street. Her organisation has been using the site since early 2025 to run sewing classes, a fact that was listed on Council’s own website.

Councillor Voted Without Conflict Declaration

The $750,000 refurbishment project was passed as part of a broader budget vote. No councillors declared a conflict of interest prior to the adoption of the budget, despite the fact that two councillors were connected to groups operating within the Old Shire Offices—one through employment and the other as a long-time member of a resident organisation.

The Wyndham Community and Education Centre, headed by Cr Barrera, was listed as providing programs within the site at the time of the vote. Meanwhile, a second councillor has been involved in an organisation that has occupied the same site for more than 36 years.

Question About the Issue Blocked

At the 23 September 2025 Council Meeting, local resident and President of the Werribee District Historical Society Lisa Heinrichs , submitted a written public question seeking clarity on the matter. The question read:

“With $750,000 allocated in the 2025/26 budget to the old shire office at 49 Watton Street, and with no councillors declaring a conflict of interest during the budget’s adoption, would Council have expected a conflict to be declared? One councillor is the CEO of an organisation that is a current user of the building and has been since the start of the year. Furthermore, a second councillor has been a member of another organisation that has occupied the space for 36 years. The first organisation is advertised as running classes in the building on the council’s own website. Since this expenditure could have been separated as a distinct line item, why wasn’t a conflict of interest declared by these councillors?”

However, Council refused to allow the question to be read aloud or answered in the meeting. The official response from the Governance team stated:

“The question is disallowed under Wyndham City Governance Rule’s – s 55.9.2 – question has been determined to be defamatory, indecent, abusive, offensive, irrelevant, trivial or objectionable in language or substance and s55.9.4 – it is aimed at embarrassing a Councillor or a member of Council staff.”

Council Says Conflict Is ‘Remote’

In response to media inquiries about the issue, a Council spokesperson confirmed that Cr Barrera’s organisation would need to apply through an open Expression of Interest process once the refurbishment is complete, and suggested that any conflict was therefore not material.

“The context here is important. The Old Shire Offices are closing for refurbishment. As a result, all groups using those offices have been asked to vacate to allow the works to occur. Council has indicated that, following the refurbishment works, it will run an Expression of Interest process to determine future community use.”

“Councillors are individually responsible for deciding whether or not they have a conflict of interest.”

“Council officers are always happy to provide advice about what Councillors should consider in making this decision.”

“For example, are they, or the organisation for which they work, likely to incur a significant benefit or loss as a result of the decision they are making?”

“In this case, as Cr Barrera’s organisation would need to apply through the EOI process along with any other community group wishing to use the Old Shire Offices following the refurbishment, it would seem to reasonably follow that any conflict in the budget decision is remote and therefore exempt under Section 129(a) of the Local Government Act 2020.”

Legislative Context

Under Section 129(a) of the Local Government Act 2020, councillors are exempt from declaring conflicts where the benefit is no greater than that received by others in a general class. However, Section 130 of the Act makes it a criminal offence to fail to disclose a conflict of interest, and penalties can include fines or prosecution.

Community Calls for Transparency

While Council’s interpretation appears to rely on the anticipated neutrality of the future EOI process, community members argue that the appearance of a conflict—particularly when one organisation was already a user of the space and led by a councillor—warrants closer scrutiny.

“This is about perception as much as process,” one resident said. “When a councillor’s own organisation is using a space that’s being upgraded with ratepayer money, people expect full disclosure—even if the legal threshold hasn’t been crossed.”

No confirmation has been given by Council as to whether a formal conflict-of-interest assessment was conducted or whether any legal advice was sought before the budget vote took place.

Wyndham TV makes no claim of wrongdoing by Cr Barrera, but reports that community members have raised concerns about the matter.