NEWSFLASH

ACTING CEO REPLIES TO ONE OF HIS CRITICS

Stuffs it up, as usual, with a little help from his friends

The following confidential email arrived this morning in the inbox of one of my friends:

From: Graeme Simpson [mailto:ceo@york.wa.gov.au]
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 8:52 AM
To: Simon Saint; Records
Cc: 'Matthew Reid'; 'David Wallace'; 'Denese smythe'; 'Karen Chapel'; 'Daniel Simms'; 'Jenni Law'; 'Andrew Borrett'
Subject: RE: Question PQT OCM September 2015

Dear Mr Saint,

The Council of the day in October 2013 determined the manner in which Public Question Time is to be conducted and stipulated the process to be followed. The LG Administration Regulations 5, 6 and 7 require public question time to precede discussion on any matter that requires a decision of the Council.

The President and Mentors have been involved in the consideration of the difficulties that uncontrolled questions pose for the meetings of Council and it was deemed essential that the procedures laid down be followed.

If you seek to have a system of answering questions without restriction you will have to seek a legislation change of Western Australian law.

  

Regards

Graeme

Graeme Simpson

Acting Chief Executive Officer

Shire of York

08.9641.2233

records@york.wa.gov.au

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My friend had asked a question about the restriction of Public Question Time as discussed in my previous post on the topic.

In his email, the Acting CEO has missed—or more correctly, evaded—the point of my friend’s objection to that restriction.  (My friend’s reasons for objecting are pretty much the same as mine.) 

The fact is that the CEO has no power to place restrictions on PQT.  The law reserves that power to the person presiding over a meeting, normally in York the Shire President.

In my opinion, not even the Shire President has the power to demand that questions touching on administrative matters be ‘forwarded directly’ to the Acting CEO (or a real CEO, come to that).  If shire presidents did have that power, they would be fools to exercise it.

To make answering questions on ‘administrative matters’ the prerogative of the CEO of the day would be risky. It might result in uncomfortable or embarrassing questions not being answered, or if they are answered, not being included in council minutes or otherwise exposed to the public gaze. 

More than likely, if they are answered, it will be in letters or emails marked or simply described as confidential (like the one replicated above). 

Surprisingly, many people believe they are obliged to do as they’re told and treat those communications as confidential.   Well, no.  There is no such obligation attaching to communications from the Shire, other public agencies, firms of solicitors and so forth.  What they present as an order or strict requirement is actually merely a request.

Never be afraid to publicise official communications if you believe it is in the community’s best interests that you should.  The worst thing the Shire or public agencies can do in retaliation is to refuse to write to you again. 

Of course, if you’re told that a government communication is covered by official secrets legislation, it’s wise to take that on board.  But I don’t think that would apply to a letter or email from the Shire of York.

Most of us would agree that PQT gets out of hand at times and lasts too long.  It’s up to the Shire President to bring us peasants into line.  Controlling any aspect of a council meeting, including PQT, is his prerogative. 

It has nothing whatever to do with the CEO or any other member of Shire staff.  We don’t vote for them.  They are merely servants of the Council and of the community that elected it.

We don’t vote for the so-called ‘mentors’, either, and while they’re entitled as we all are to offer our councillors advice in private they have neither the power nor the right to involve themselves in deliberations that result in unlawful decisions imposed on the people of York.  

If the Acting CEO and his mates want a system of answering questions that restricts PQT to questions about ‘governance’ they will have to seek changes to Western Australian law.

Written, authorised and published by James Plumridge 14 Harriott Street York