The final meeting of the Hepburn Shire Council for 2024 went awry as three councillors left before a vote could be held on the final agenda item, a confidential planning matter.

With the three councillors gone, and only three remaining – with the resignation of Juliet Simpson earlier this year – a quorum was no longer met.

Those who left were councillors Tessa Halliday, Tim Drylie and it is believed Jen Bray. Ms Bray said as the matter was confidential she could not comment on it.

Those who remained were councillors Brian Hood, Don Henderson and Lesley Hewitt. Council CEO Bradley Thomas said four councillors were needed to meet a quorum so the meeting finished with the matter not voted upon.

It had however already gone before council with a decision made earlier this year. That decision was then upheld by Mr Thomas. Mr Thomas said it was not completely unusual for councillors to walk out of meetings but they were usually meetings open to the public and done to make a stand on an issue.

“This one is a bit weird because it was in the confidential section of the meeting so it is difficult for people to know what that stand was. But it is not illegal, councillors have the right to be in the room for whatever items they want to vote for.

“In this case three councillors decided for their own personal reasons that they didn’t want to vote on the matter so they left the meeting.”

Mr Thomas said the planning item had a previous decision so it would not return to council.

“From our point of view the matter is now closed and we have moved on and done what we needed to do with the planning permits.

“There are different personal thoughts on whether councillors should leave a meeting but there is nothing to stop them or force them to be in a meeting, that is the process we have.”

Mr Thomas said the issue had come back to council because “extra information had come to hand” and he made the decision to put it back on the agenda for the council to vote again with that added detail.

“Ultimately they didn’t make a decision because there were not enough (councillors) in the room and I have gone with the original decision.”

Tim Drylie, one of those who left the meeting, said he understood there was some community concern about councillors walking out without making decisions, calling it “somewhat extraordinary”.

“I am happy to go on the record, but as it was a confidential matter there is not a lot I can actually say, and I can only speak for myself.

“I am certainly standing on the platform of transparency and accountability in local government. It just makes it difficult to discuss the reasons behind it but fundamentally for me, it was a complex decision which involved ethical and legal issues around what was appropriate in that instance.

“It was not just a matter of walking out, it was a more complex situation. In this instance it was about accountability and transparency around that particular matter and also noting the CEO has stated it has not affected the overall situation in the broader scheme of things.

“It is certainly not a decision I took lightly and certainly not something councillors consider as a normal part of doing business – we are very respectful and understand the gravity of our position and the importance of governance and behaviours.”

Mr Drylie said it was not something that had been planned but rather “thought through on the day”.

“It was based on the evidence that was before us and I made up my own independent mind on that.”

Tessa Halliday, who also left the meeting, said she did not believe the council should have been voting on the issue which already had a decision in play and unresolved outstanding legal issues.

“It would not have been fair to the applicant, they have done nothing wrong.”

Words: Donna Kelly

Daylesford Macedon Tourism will host Growth Mindset in Uncertain Times at the Macedon Ranges Hotel & Spa this Wednesday, June 26 from 8.30am to 3.30pm.

This year’s theme is about having a growth mindset in uncertain times. The conference will hear from some of the country’s most innovative and forward thinking leaders.

Topics for discussion include learning about using AI to generate content, how to market a business in challenging times, and why invest when others are cutting back.

There will be a chance to gain insights into the international market and what they expect, as well as real life examples of how to get traction in the weddings and events space.

A finance expert will talk about how to survive in a lower spend environment, and speakers from Visit Victoria and Tourism Australia will also keep the audience up-to-date with the latest marketing initiatives, and how to get involved.

The keynote speaker, Dan Monheit, CEO and the cofounder of Hardhat, is a behavioural scientist who has presented on the international stage and worked with the likes of Visit Victoria, and will talk about the power of a positive mindset and bring real life examples.

Also speaking are Macedon Ranges Shire CEO Bernie Sullivan and Hepburn Shire CEO Bradley Thomas, pictured above, on the theme: Housing, Planning and more: how councils are enabling growth.

The cost is $79 +GST for DMT partners and $158 +GST for non-partners.

Link: www.dmrtourism.com.au/events/

Words: Donna Kelly

CCTV surveillance equipment to protect Creswick’s public EV charge station is scheduled for installation this week, Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas has confirmed.

The new 50kW Chargefox station, located beside the town’s visitor Information centre, was taken offline after it was vandalised in August just over three months after becoming operational, much to the disgust of the wider community keen to see progress toward achieving zero-net emissions.

Late last week Mr Thomas confirmed that CCTV equipment is set to be installed this week with  Hepburn Wind (partners in Hepburn shire’s charge station roll-out) expected to then carry out the necessary repairs to the station early in the new year.

“It won’t be up and running for Christmas, unfortunately. Disappointing but obviously we want to get the CCTV in so that it doesn’t happen again or acts as a deterrent, or if it does became vandalised again we might have some opportunity to catch the people,” Mr Thomas said.

“I haven’t got a final cost, but talking to the team, the damage ended up being a bit more costly then we expected, so obviously disappointing. It was a bit more damage then we thought.

“Obviously we want to get people to the regions over Christmas and the new year and you want to be able to encourage people to make that move to EVs. Disappointing all round. We’d rather not have to have CCTV.”

 The Hepburn CEO also confirmed that the similar new fast charge station slated for Trentham will be installed at the town’s new mechanics building, and in line with that project is expected to be in place by mid next year.

The public EV charge station earmarked for Clunes is scheduled for installation in the first quarter of 2024.

Words & Image: Eve Lamb

By Donna Kelly

Had some interesting chats with Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas and Mayor Brian Hood last week.
The council put out a media release which says aggressive behaviour towards Hepburn Shire Council staff is on the increase and reaching unprecedented levels.
Mr Thomas said in the release that recent incidents had highlighted the lack of respect shown by some people towards council staff.
“Staff are regularly feeling intimidated after being approached in the street or in other public places, like the supermarket, and verbally abused, sometimes shouted or sworn at. We acknowledge that we don’t always get things right and sometimes mistakes are made, but that does not excuse poor behaviour towards staff.”
Later Mr Thomas said over the phone that it was a phenomenon that was happening in many council areas – mostly country. He thinks that with the end (sort of) of Covid, and the sky-rocketing cost of living, that people have had enough and feel they have the right to have their say.
Cr Hood said council staff, and councillors, were entitled to have a safe workplace. “Verbal abuse and threatening behaviour is simply not acceptable, and that includes cowardly online abuse. Council will do everything within its powers to protect its staff and councillors. We will not tolerate aggressive, abusive or threatening behaviour.”
Cr Hood said he was not a psychologist but, in his latest mayoral report to council, also called out the irresponsible behaviour of some media which “emboldens some elements of the community and fans the flames of dissent”.
Now, when I read that I was a bit annoyed. But after talking to Cr Hood I think it is more about mainstream media and not local media.
Also, The Local is very much a professional outfit, accredited as a newspaper through the Victorian Country Press Association and the federal Country Press Association. We employ qualified, professional journalists to write our stories and they are done with the utmost consideration. Yes, now and again, we might have a bit of a rant about council, but I think it is pretty much merited. The Rex, handing over aged care, the drooping Bleakley Street units, terrible satisfaction survey results.
But, that is no reason for anyone to harass or intimidate council staff or councillors, who are only doing their job, and probably for a pretty limited salary. Complain sure, but always remain respectful. And do it in the right way.
Sadly, keyboard warriors abound, saying things online they would never say to anyone’s face, and many people don’t realise just how small our rate base is. We are lucky to get roads, rates and rubbish done. And I know we still pay rates while the roads remain rubbish but most of them belong to the state government and not the council.

When we started The Local, Kyle asked if we should open an office in Daylesford. No, I said, no way. When I worked at The Advocate, in the Coles carpark office, people would line up to pop in and rage away for 30 minutes. One woman spent her time telling me I was a piece of shit – and then left saying “I feel better now”. I did feel like shit after that. I have been emailed: “Do you want to die?”. True story.
So next time you need to vent your spleen about a council issue, make a reasoned call, send an email or maybe decide if it’s just you having a bad day.
People might think I am mellowing in my old age but I just think we all should be treated respectfully. Who knows what’s going on in the background? Just sayin’…