October 10th, 2024Walk out for final Hepburn Shire meeting
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
