
Local government minister watching ToPH ‘closely' as council looks to pass budget before August deadline
The local authority's August 27 ordinary council meeting could be a make-or-break affair because if councillors can't reach a consensus, they risk not making the August 31 deadline.
'As the minister for local government, I continue to monitor the issues at the Town of Port Hedland very closely,' Ms Beazley told the Telegraph this week.
It strongly echos comments she made earlier this year when the controversial council was reduced to just five elected members after a string of resignations, when she said she had prepared the 'groundwork' to put the council into administration.
After the resignation of Ambika Rebello in May, mayor Peter Carter had warned that the next meeting in June would be the 'turning point'.
'If the budget doesn't get passed — that's the trigger. That's when it'll be over,' he said then.
'It'll end up like it did in 2019, when I resigned as a councillor and one more pulled the pin and the whole lot was dissolved.'
However, the budget item has since been pushed to later and later dates. A special meeting planned for this week was the latest in abandoned attempts to get the budget passed.
While the council could apply to the minister for a deadline extension according to the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety, the Town of Port Hedland was yet to make an application as of August 7.
'Local governments which fail to apply for an extension prior to the deadline are non-compliant but not in breach of the Local Government Act 1995,' a DLGIRS spokesperson said.
'However, any delays may impact on requirements to submit financial management statements to the Auditor General by 30 September 2025.'
Mr Carter this week said he hoped councillors could still come together to pass the budget.
'We are all passionate about getting great outcomes for Hedland,' he said.
'Passing the budget will allow us to continue to build on our goals of increasing livability in Hedland and supporting our community to thrive.'
It comes after continual controversy at the troubled council, with two councillors in the past two months having to apologise for breaching the Local Government Act, the council being appointed a commissioner in 2019, a defamation suit between Cr Camilo Blanco and Mr Carter ongoing, members passing controversial vaccine motions and Cr Adrian McRae praising Vladimir Putin on Russian TV.
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Sydney Morning Herald
35 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Alan Jones' former conservative home still waiting for Newsmax relaunch
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The Advertiser
35 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Europe races to influence US ahead of Trump-Putin talks
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Even so, the prospect of Trump hosting Putin, on US soil, in what will be the first meeting between leaders of the United States and Russia since 2021, has revived fears that he might agree to a deal that forces big concessions from Kyiv or weakens European security. Trump has said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Russia and Ukraine, prompting consternation in Kyiv and European capitals. "Regarding territorial issues, the Russian position is framed as a territorial swap, but it appears as a rather one-sided swap," a European Commission official said on Sunday. Russia occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine holds barely any Russian territory. European leaders have underscored their commitment to the idea that international borders cannot be changed by force, fearing any deal forced on Kyiv could create a dangerous precedent. European leaders and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy will speak to US President Donald Trump this week ahead of his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, amid fears Washington may dictate unfavourable peace terms to Ukraine. Trump announced last week he would meet Putin on Friday in Alaska to negotiate an end to the 3.5-year war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour. Ukraine and its European allies fear that Trump, keen to claim credit for making peace and also hoping to seal lucrative joint business deals with Moscow, could align with Putin to cut a deal that would be deeply disadvantageous to Kyiv. Germany said it was convening a series of top-level video conferences on Wednesday to prepare for the summit including one between European leaders, Zelenskiy, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance. It will be the first time Zelenskiy and Trump have spoken since the Alaska summit was announced. 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European leaders and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy will speak to US President Donald Trump this week ahead of his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, amid fears Washington may dictate unfavourable peace terms to Ukraine. Trump announced last week he would meet Putin on Friday in Alaska to negotiate an end to the 3.5-year war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour. Ukraine and its European allies fear that Trump, keen to claim credit for making peace and also hoping to seal lucrative joint business deals with Moscow, could align with Putin to cut a deal that would be deeply disadvantageous to Kyiv. Germany said it was convening a series of top-level video conferences on Wednesday to prepare for the summit including one between European leaders, Zelenskiy, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance. It will be the first time Zelenskiy and Trump have spoken since the Alaska summit was announced. 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Even so, the prospect of Trump hosting Putin, on US soil, in what will be the first meeting between leaders of the United States and Russia since 2021, has revived fears that he might agree to a deal that forces big concessions from Kyiv or weakens European security. Trump has said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Russia and Ukraine, prompting consternation in Kyiv and European capitals. "Regarding territorial issues, the Russian position is framed as a territorial swap, but it appears as a rather one-sided swap," a European Commission official said on Sunday. Russia occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine holds barely any Russian territory. European leaders have underscored their commitment to the idea that international borders cannot be changed by force, fearing any deal forced on Kyiv could create a dangerous precedent.

The Age
35 minutes ago
- The Age
New Year's Eve no longer planned for Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance
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The designation stopped Deripaska from travelling to Australia or profiting from his company's share in the Gladstone refinery. Former attorney-general Christian Porter, now a Perth-based barrister. Credit: Trevor Collens Deripaska has been fighting those sanctions ever since, arguing that they are constitutionally invalid because they stop him travelling to Australia to challenge them. Last week, the High Court granted Deripaska special leave to appeal a March decision of Federal Court judges rejecting his argument. The sanctions against Deripaska, which aligns with similar decisions made by the United States, United Kingdom and European Union following the Ukraine invasion, were implemented by Marise Payne in her then role as foreign minister. And at the centre of the oligarch's legal challenge is one of Payne's old cabinet comrades, former attorney-general Christian Porter, who quit parliament before the 2022 election after using anonymous donors to fund an aborted defamation case against the ABC after the public broadcaster reported a historic rape allegation against him (which Porter has always denied). Porter, as CBD regulars would recall, has returned to the Perth bar with gusto, where he's acted in a series of high-profile cases. Which has now brought him into the orbit of a billionaire Russian oligarch, and paved the way for a dramatic return to Canberra. Steel yourself for a swim Spare a thought for the residents of Kew, who have to schlep off to the nearby eastern suburbs of Balwyn or Hawthorn for a swim after promises of a new recreation centre came crashing down. 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Rumours that Newsmax had enlisted former NRL Footy Show host Erin Molan as a flagship presenter turned out to be just that. Molan has since landed a rather bizarre gig hosting an Elon Musk-backed show called 69X Minutes on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Molan is also set to unveil an eponymous show on the Salem Network, a Christian family-themed American broadcaster financially backed by the president's failson, Donald Trump Jr. Which probably takes her out of the running. Erin Molan on the set of 69X Minutes. Credit: Screenshot Presenters at ADH TV who remained hopeful of broadcasting with Newsmax have no sense of when they'll be back on air, if at all. We've heard whispers of an October launch, but little more. Bulfin didn't return our calls. A complicated, and as yet, unsettled situation, it seems, that left CBD wondering whether Newsmax Australia would ever see the light of day. Which to us, is a sad day for Australian media. ADH TV provided a welcome home for so many of the right's has-beens: former Australian Christian Lobby boss Lyle Shelton, arch-monarchist David Flint, twice-rehabilitated News Corp broadcaster Chris Smith and, for some reason, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's husband.