Laws to sack council get tick

GLENORCHY is set for fresh elections in January next year after the State Government’s legislation aimed at sacking the council was passed by the Legislative Council.

The legislation, introduced by Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein in the wake of repetitive delays to the Board of Inquiry investigation into the council, was yesterday passed by the Upper House.

It will now go the House of Assembly for noting before being signed into law by Governor Kate Warner.

Once it receives Royal Assent the 10 suspended Glenorchy aldermen will be dismissed and nominations will be called for new council elections on January 16.

“This is the result that the community has been calling for,” Mr Gutwein said.

During the passing of the Bill, several MLCs raised concerns about the clause of the legislation that said the rules of natural justice did not apply in relation to any action taken under the Bill.

Leader of the Government in the Upper House Leonie Hiscutt said this was in the legislation to prevent further legal challenges to the Board of Inquiry investigation into the council.

In an interesting move yesterday morning, Huon Valley commissioner Adriana Taylor emailed all independent and Liberal members of the Upper House asking them to block an apparent Labor Party proposal to also bring early elections to the Huon Valley.

“The situation at Glenorchy is not at all the same as in the Huon Valley,” she wrote in the email obtained by the Mercury.

“While I understand that it sounds reasonable on the surface to say why not have elections at the same time, there is a good, responsible and community-accepted process in place for preparing for elections next October for the Huon Valley.”

Ms Taylor also said in the email that she would stand to financially benefit from an early election by having her contract paid out, before sending a further email saying that would not be the case.

The Mercury attempted to get comment from Ms Taylor about her emails.