April 10th, 2025Some still angry over The Rex…
Hepburn Shire Mayor Cr Don Henderson, councillors and CEO have issued an apology for the failed Hepburn Hub at The Rex project.
“On behalf of the council the current elected councillor group would like to express our regret to our community of Hepburn Shire for the negative impact that the Hepburn Hub at The Rex project has had on us all.
“We recognise that some actions during the project have led to feelings of mistrust, and we regret the distress this caused. We acknowledge that certain actions taken in the past did not align with the values of our council and needs of our community.
“The Hepburn Hub at The Rex project did not deliver the outcomes promised, and we are sorry for the harm this caused.
“We acknowledge the impact of past decisions, including the on going impact this has had on the organisation and community. Council has taken active steps to address past shortcomings and has implemented numerous measures that prevent poor project management and improved our governance and transparency.
“We recognise that restoring the trust that has been damaged with our community will take time, but we are dedicated to listening to the concerns of our community and working to create positive partnerships.”
The apology, issued on the council’s Facebook page on March 25 after the monthly council meeting, did not take long to blow up on social media.
“Congratulations to Hepburn for having the guts to say this. It has only happened because Council Watch went public with the report the State tried to hide. We accept many were bound by confidentiality unfairly for far too long.”
“Unfortunately for council, it’s too little too late! The damage is done, trust cannot be repaired so easily!”
“It’s a polished PR statement that gestures at apology without fully embracing it. A real apology would be more specific, more direct, and include a genuine plan for restitution and reconnection with the community, and accountability taken by those involved by stepping down.”
“Interesting how the comments are turned off on their post. Too scared to hear what the residents have to say.”
“You don’t restore trust by applying to raise rates by 10%.”
“It wasn’t hopeless project management, it was hopeless valuation practice, most projects first start by knowing what they wanted to achieve and then valuing what that would be worth on the market. The removal of in-house valuers at councils by the state revenue office changes (that put all GOVT valuers in SRO) destroyed that ability of councils to get excellent opinions.”
“I will be following council watch with great fervour – keep up the great work.”
“My goodness, a council pretty much apologising for something and saying they’ll do better. It shouldn’t be as hard or as rare as this. Because it certainly is refreshing.”
Meanwhile, the council last Thursday issued a media release saying it was aware of harmful commentary and misinformation being circulated on social media.
“Recently, both commentary on social media along with emails directed to council have escalated in volume and offensive and threatening language,” the release said. “These attacks on council as a whole, and attacks on staff personally are nothing short of intimidating, abusive and unacceptable.”
Mayor Cr Don Henderson said he and the councillor group “are incredibly disheartened by the baseless rumours circulating in our communities, both online and offline”.
“We welcome frank, fearless and respectful conversations. We do not expect everyone to agree all the time. However, we do expect a healthy level of debate and respectful conversations to ensure that everyone is and feels safe.
“Threats made to staff will not be taken lightly.”
Words and file image: Donna Kelly
