By XAVIER SMERDON
A STATE politician has warned Wyndham councillors to get back to basics and stop their infighting or risk being sacked and replaced by administrators.
Upper house Member for the Western Metropolitan Region, Bernie Finn, told Star he was concerned about the current state of the Wyndham Council.
“I’ve been discussing this with my colleague Andrew Elsbury and we are keeping a watching brief on this council,” Mr Finn told Star.
“If a council is ill-disciplined, losing focus or forgetting why it’s there, then we should absolutely step in.
“I’ve got absolutely no hesitation about calling for administrators to be brought in.”
The stern warning came after Wyndham’s longest serving councillor and five-time Mayor, Shane Bourke, resigned less than one year into his current term.
Mr Bourke cited differences of opinion with recent council decisions for his shock resignation.
“Over the past few months there have been some council decisions that have arisen which have prompted me to re-consider my position on council,” Cr Bourke said.
“While I am supportive of the decision-making process in general and the views of others, I have been left questioning whether I am still able to make a positive difference for the wider community.”
Mr Finn said it was very telling that Mr Bourke had walked away from the council after so many years of service.
“You would be hard pressed to find anyone more civic spirited than Shane so when I heard that he had told them to ‘stick it where the sun don’t shine’, I was very surprised,” he said.
“When you get someone like Shane Bourke resigning then that is a fair indication that something is amiss.”
Mr Finn echoed residents that had inundated Star with calls for action over the current council, saying they should focus on what is important.
“I think the council needs to get back to basics. It is the old adage, roads, rates and rubbish,” he said.
“I hate any wastage of money. Ratepayer’s money shouldn’t be going towards any flights of fancy for any arty farty legacy they wish to leave.”
He said he had been approached by residents that wanted administrators to take over and the concerns of residents were likely to be raised with Premier Denis Napthine and the Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell.
“I’ve had discussion with a number of people in the area in recent times, but it has certainly become a little bit more intense lately,” he said.
“Despite what some people with vested interests might say, there is very strong support in the community for administrators.”
Mr Finn added that if more councillors followed Mr Bourke’s lead by standing down, it could be the beginning of the end for the council.
“I don’t think Wyndham Council is there just yet but that’s something that might change very quickly,” he said.
“We have to have a reason to launch an investigation and while I don’t think dysfunction has become the word of the day, only a couple more councillors would need to resign for an investigation to be ordered, and that could bring on administrators.”
According to councillor Intaj Khan, further resignations were likely.
“I think at least one more councillor will resign before the end of this term,” Cr Khan told Star.
“Because of the growing population there is more demand on the councillors and more time required from each of us.”
