Court of appeal: More changes to come

Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill, said, “The Court of Appeal has ordered a 7 day stay on the lifting of the injunction restraining the Minister for Local Government, Gabrielle Upton MP, from suspending the Council.

“The decision of the Court allows the Council to consider whether to make a new application for an injunction to the NSW Land and Environment Court or to otherwise seek to resolve the matter through discussions with the Minister.”

The Mayor said that much has happened since the Minister’s suspension notice was issued to the Council on 15 February 2018.

“We have demonstrated that the independent investigation into asbestos management by the Council was conducted appropriately by Mr Tooma of Clyde & Co”, the Mayor said. 

“Despite concerns, there was no conflict of interest or bias between Mr Tooma and former Council employee Mr Mulligan, who was not under investigation.”

“The same independent investigation, which was initiated by the Council, cleared the elected council of any wrongdoing.

“I acknowledge that there have been operational failures in the past which have been addressed.

“The Council has acted diligently to comply with every requirement of the Performance Improvement Order, imposed on the Council by the Minister on 22 January 2018. We have completed, or substantially progressed all actions required of us, to the extent that, we believe, the Council is in a position to set an example for others to follow in terms of the proper management of asbestos.

“The Council has also complied with everything asked of it by SafeWork NSW.

“In addition, we have adopted all of the recommendations of the independent investigator relating to asbestos and safety management. 

The Minister has not identified any deficiency in in the actions taken by the Council to date. However, we remain open to talking with the Minister to ensure that we address any of her concerns, while leaving elected democracy in place.”