LOGAN Ratepayers Association has called for Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe to dissolve Logan City Council and call an immediate election for the positions of mayor and councillors.
In the letter dated October 10, LRA’s honourary president Rod Shaw describes Logan, with councillors divided over the dumping of Logan chief executive Sharon Kelsey, as a “bifucated council waging internal civil war with no syncretic outcome remotely possible”.
The council voted seven to five to remove Ms Kelsey, who is fighting for her reinstatement in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.
In the letter, Mr Shaw expresses concerns about “the denial of natural justice” and procedural fairness for Ms Kelsey, whose matter remains ongoing with the next hearing not scheduled until the last week of December and a further two weeks for February 2019.
“This means Ms Kelsey will not have received a salary for one year because of the ongoing delays to the matter ...,” he said.
Mr Shaw said Ms Kelsey’s information helped uncover information in the Crime and Corruption Commission’s Operation Belcarra. Mayor Luke Smith faces charges of perjury and official corruption. He has vowed to fight them.
“(These) resulted in the suspension of the mayor once the Local Government Act was amended to enable that to occur,” he said.
“The reward for Ms Kelsey’s integrity was … (termination of) her services on the grounds she had not performed to the required standard during her probationary period. This was despite her receiving excellent performance appraisals from internal evaluators.”
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Mr Shaw said this, combined with salary maintenance for the suspended mayor and the domino effect of high duty allowances paid to all staff who worked up to higher positions had created an “unpalatable situation for ratepayers”.
“The rates in Logan are among the highest in the country and now we are saddled with this financial encumbrance …,” he said.
“This toxic situation should not be allowed to continue. We need a legitimate and properly elected mayor and we need to review the composition of councillors across the 12 divisions.
“As the minister responsible we call on you to dissolve council and call an immediate election for all positions.
“As we must allow for the presumption of innocence until he stands in the dock, Mayor Smith can throw his hat into the ring as well and test how much popular support he enjoys in the city.
“This will give the people the opportunity to have their say and decide on the future of those who are supposed to represent them.
“While we appreciate you cannot intervene in the proceedings before the QIRC, you can seek an answer as to why the (Ms Kelsey’s) matter cannot be brought forward to an earlier date.
“The undue delay has caused great financial loss to a loyal servant of the government and the people and the government needs to provide the support necessary to correct this aberration and deliver the natural justice and procedural fairness she has so far been denied.”
Mr Hinchliffe said: “I’m closely monitoring events at Logan City Council, however I do not intend to interfere in any ongoing processes involving the CCC or the QIRC.”
A Logan City Council spokesman said the council did not wish to comment.