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ABC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Conficts of interest, voting blocs and leadership failure blamed for Coomalie council sacking
In the vast Northern Territory outback, the dismissal of a regional council covering a population of just over 1,300 people may not seem like much. But a previously confidential report into the Coomalie Community Government Council paints a picture of elected members turning against each other, a breach of confidentiality and conflicts of interests at the heart of a regional rift. Last year former local government minister Chansey Paech suspended the council for "a number of deficiencies" in the handling of council affairs and launched an investigation. Last week, Local Government Minister Steve Edgington dismissed all elected members of the council for "serious and sustained deficiencies". His finding was based on a report handed down a month prior by independent investigator Cathryn Hutton, a former chief executive of two NT councils. Now the report's release has revealed the inner workings of the failed Coomalie council. The report found the council's behaviour had "degenerated significantly" over two years and suggested that before the suspension, members had divided into "two voting blocs". The clashing councillors were president Sharon Beswick and deputy president Colin Freeman, who passed away prior to the council's dismissal. As the fighting escalated, "alliances" were formed. These terse voting patterns resulted in decisions often made without the best interests of the residents and taxpayers in mind, the report said. The report said "leadership failure" between the president and deputy forced members into extensive remediation and training, but it still did not resolve tensions. During this time, the report said councillors Sharon Beswick, Colin Freeman and Stephen Noble did not conduct themselves in accordance with the code of conduct. The report said an elected member breached confidentiality after a question was raised around the confidential matter at a council meeting by a redacted person. The report went on to say it was not possible to determine who leaked the information to the person, however "an identical question was asked by Sharon Beswick" at the same meeting. Local Government Minister Steve Edgington said he was currently looking at a set of reforms to improve the effectiveness of the Local Government Act. "Presently, the remedies for a breach of the code of conduct include mediation or training," Mr Edgington said. "But it is evident from the history of such complaints that this is not sufficient for those situations where a council member repeatedly breaches the code of conduct." The report said continued code of conduct breaches by Ms Beswick and Mr Noble during their suspension suggested they were "not fit to hold public office". The report detailed behaviour that "exasperated existing conflict within the council and further deteriorated public opinion". It said Ms Beswick frequently interjected and gagged speakers, especially during disagreements, and targeted inappropriate and personal comments towards councillors and staff. It cites a specific incident where Ms Beswick spoke for 40 minutes, amounting to "verbal bulldozing". After talking extensively, Ms Beswick enforced a three-minute time limit with other members and "used the chairs' privilege to rebut every contrary opinion". The report alleges the former president also had a high level of involvement in council operations, despite being trained on the separation of powers within the act. The chief executive indicated her involvement included signing off on all the bank summary, witnessing all invoices and reviewing staff pay. Furthermore, it found Ms Beswick failed to declare a conflict of interest during discussion on development planning adjacent to her personally owned business. Ms Beswick has been contacted for comment. The report made 14 recommendations, including harsher penalties for code of conduct breaches and further training for council members. Local Government Association of NT president Kon Vatskalis said Coomalie council's dismissal was a result of ineffective and toothless code of conduct regulations. "The government is now listening and we welcome this — but real change won't come into play until next year," he said. "Communities want to know what the government is going to do to address these issues if they happen again in the meantime." An election will be held for the Coomalie council on August 23.
ABC News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Coomalie council dismissed by NT government after investigation finds 'serious deficiencies'
A regional Northern Territory council has been sacked following an investigation revealing what have been described as "serious and sustained deficiencies". The Coomalie council was put under official management in July last year when former NT local government minister Chansey Paech suspended its members and launched an official investigation into "a number of deficiencies" in the handling of council affairs. On Friday, Local Government Minister Steve Edginton dismissed all elected members of the council. "The decision to dismiss members of the Coomalie Community Government Council was difficult but necessary," he said. A statement from the minister's office said Mr Edgington's decision was "based on serious and sustained deficiencies in the Council's governance and operations". "It underscores the importance of elected members meeting their obligations under the Local Government Act 2019 and serving the best interests of their communities," Mr Edgington said. The council's area includes Adelaide River, Batchelor and Lake Bennett. The minister's decision follows the completion of an investigation into the council by former Palmerston council CEO Cathryn Hutton. Mr Edgington's office said the report, which has not been publicly released, found the members "lacked a full understanding of their responsibilities" as councillors. Other key findings noted by the minister's office included "significant interpersonal conflicts" among council members, "insufficient administration of meetings" and some "serious procedural errors". Local Government Association NT president Kon Vatskalis said he was not surprised by the dismissal. Mr Vatskalis said there needed to be consequences for breaching the code of conduct for individuals. "There are people out there, elected members, who have 1, 2 [or] 23 breaches of code of conduct, and there's nothing that can be done about it because [there is] nothing in the legislation," he said. He believes Mr Edgington has plans to change the legislation, but said it had been prioritised last in a raft of local government reforms. "Sorry minister, it should be the other way round. Fix the code of conduct first and everything else will fall into line," he said. An election will be held for the Coomalie council on August 23.
