Ratepayer fury over trip

A CONTROVERSIAL trip by Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood to Europe has been slammed by the City Hall watchdog.

Ratepayers Geelong president Andrew Senia said it was “bitterly disappointing” that no councillors challenged the $18,000 excursion to Poland, Great Britain and Italy by the Mayor and a yet-to-be-named council officer.

Councillors unanimously voted this week to support the 18-day trip, which will also take in a Kuala Lumpur stopover so Cr Harwood can meet with AirAsia management.

“The feedback we’ve had, not just members of our group, but other ratepayers has been a justified sense of frustration,” Mr Senia said. “This is ratepayer money being spent, $1000 a day for 18 days, in order to give the Mayor a tour around not one, not two, but three European countries.

“Surely that $18,000 could be better spent for the community? The councillors are elected to scrutinise costs yet they let a vote sail through that has ‘waste of money’ written all over it.

“We are in 2018, with teleconferencing and the latest in communication technology.”

The main item on the itinerary is the UNESCO Creative Cities annual meeting, held in the Polish city of Krakow. The Mayor and council officer will then travel to the UK, visiting Edinburgh and Dundee before skipping across the English Channel to Italy to visit Turin and Milan.

Cr Peter Murrihy described the trip as an exciting opportunity for Geelong, while Cr Jim Mason said it was important for the city to make faceto-face connections with delegates.

“This is a great investment, well worth the cost,” Cr Murrihy said. “It’s a huge opportunity to showcase our city on the world stage.”

The Geelong Advertiser re- ported this week that lobby groups G21 and Committee for Geelong both endorsed the trip.

“The Geelong Advertiser should be congratulated for exposing this outrageous waste of ratepayer dollars,” Mr Senia said. “There are some communities without a robust local press where councils get away with this lack of accountability.”