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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