Asher silence on return
But mayoral pay rise to sweeten election loss
GEELONG’S mayor Stephanie Asher has failed to answer questions on when she will return to City Hall after a leave of absence of almost five months to unsuccessfully contest the federal seat of Corangamite for the Liberal Party.
But it isn’t all bad news for the Bellarine Ward councillor – the mayor’s salary has jumped 20 per cent to almost $120,000 during her absence.
Ms Asher did not respond to a request for comment on Monday on her plans for returning to Geelong council.
Her approved leave of absence is due to end on May 31.
Media at Ms Asher’s election function on Saturday night were also told she would not answer questions after delivering her concession speech to re-elected Corangamite Labor MP Libby Coker.
In Corangamite, Ms Asher suffered a 9 per cent swing against the Liberal Party in first-preference votes, picking up 33.31 per cent of the total, and 41.27 per cent of the twocandidate preferred (TCP) vote.
Ms Coker retained the seat with 39.18 per cent of first-preference votes and 58.73 per cent of the TCP vote.
Greens candidate Alex Marshall scored more than 15 per cent of first-preference votes.
Ms Asher announced her leave of absence from Geelong council on January 14 to contest the federal election.
She said she would only resign from the council if elected to federal parliament, and would retain her mayoral position if unsuccessful.
But the sting of her election loss may be dulled by a mayoral salary increase, with Ms Asher’s pay packet boosted almost 20 per cent to $119,316 during her absence.
The increase came after the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal (VIRT) in March determined new base allowances for councillors, mayors and deputy mayors across the state, backdated to December 2021.
The base allowance of Geelong councillors rose by 14.4 per cent to $35,972, with Geelong’s deputy mayor’s salary jumping 89.7 per cent, from $31,444 to $59,658.
Ms Asher elected not to receive her mayoral allowance while on leave, nor use her mayoral vehicle or claim expenses.