Tuesday, 19 May 2020
ONE week after requesting the urgent intervention of the Minister for Local Government to resolve some significant issues of dysfunction within the leadership of Armidale Regional Council, on behalf of the community, I welcome her swift and strong action today.
Council now has 14 days to respond to the Minister with a submission as to why it should not be suspended and an independent administrator appointed to govern the council for a period of three months.
The Minister has the power to suspend the Mayor and Councillors for an initial period of up to three months and, if necessary, extend that period for a further three months (six months in total) to resolve the current issues within the council.
Last week, I asked the Minister to ensure any action she took was expedited to ensure this untenable situation was not allowed to continue and become ‘business as usual’.
Today’s notice of intention is hopefully the first step toward sorting out the issues plaguing Armidale Regional Council and putting its focus back where it should be – providing effective and united leadership for the region and delivering for the local community.
Our region and our communities expect and deserve much better than they’ve been getting of late from council.
With the Minister’s timely action today, the ball is now firmly in council’s court to step up to the mark or be moved out of the way.