Extraordinary Council Meeting 10 May 2022

Minutes of Extraordinary Council Meeting held on 10 May 2022 at Ashfield Service Centre

Meeting commenced at 10.31pm

Present:
Darcy Byrne Jessica D’Arienzo Liz Atkins Marghanita Da Cruz Mark Drury Dylan Griffiths Mathew Howard Justine Langford Pauline Lockie Philippa Scott Kobi Shetty Chloe Smith John Stamolis Timothy Stephens Zoi Tsardoulias Peter Gainsford Simone Plummer	Mayor Deputy Mayor (10.34pm) Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor (10.33pm) Councillor Councillor (10.32pm) Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor General Manager Director Planning
Cathy Edwards-Davis	Director Infrastructure
Ruth Callaghan Beau-Jane De Costa Matthew Pearce	Director Community Acting Director Corporate General Counsel
Katherine Paixao	Acting Senior Manager Governance and Risk

APOLOGIES:     Nil

Councillor Langford entered the Meeting at 10:32 pm.

Councillor Griffiths entered the Meeting at 10:33 pm.

Councillor D'Arienzo entered the Meeting at 10:34 pm.

DISCLOSURES OF INTERESTS:           Nil

PUBLIC FORUM

The registered speakers were asked to address the meeting. The list of speakers is available on the last page of these minutes.

Procedural motion (Stamolis/Atkins)

That each point of the motion in Item 1 be voted on separately.

Motion Lost

For Motion:                 Crs Atkins, Da Cruz, Griffiths, Langford, Lockie, Shetty and Stamolis

Against Motion:          Crs Byrne, D'Arienzo, Drury, Howard, Scott, Smith, Stephens and Tsardoulias

Procedural Motion (Griffiths/Shetty)

That an extension of time of one (1) minute for Councillor Stamolis to speak on the motion be granted.

Motion Lost

For Motion:                 Crs Atkins, Da Cruz, Griffiths, Langford, Lockie, Shetty and Stamolis

Against Motion:          Crs Byrne, D'Arienzo, Drury, Howard, Scott, Smith, Stephens and Tsardoulias

Procedural Motion (Scott/Stephens)

That the motion be put.

Motion Carried

For Motion:                 Crs Byrne, D'Arienzo, Drury, Howard, Scott, Smith, Stephens and Tsardoulias

Against Motion:          Crs Atkins, Da Cruz, Griffiths, Langford, Lockie, Shetty and Stamolis

C0522(2) Item 1        Notice of Motion: Demerger of Inner West Council

Motion: (Stamolis/Atkins)

That Council: 

1. Notes that 62.5% of the Inner West community voted to demerge Inner West Council to restore the three previous Councils (Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville) and that the result of the poll was a majority vote across ALL five existing wards and ALL three previous Councils;

2. Notes that the Demerger Poll was run by the NSW Electoral Commission in which there were 104,219 formal votes;

3. Notes that the Demerger Poll has the support of the majority of the community and that our community reasonably expects that Council will prepare a strong and effective business case for the demerger of Inner West Council;

4. Notes that the NSW Minister for Local Government, The Hon. Wendy Tuckerman MP has confirmed that NSW Government will pay for the cost of the demerger;

5. Ensures that the community, Councillors and local government experts have close oversight of the development of Council’s business case for the demerger;

6. Establishes a Demerger Committee to oversee the development of the demerger business case and invites Councillors, community members and local government experts to be active members of this Committee;

7. Provides any documents such as Terms of Reference for the development of the demerger business case, the Consultant’s Brief or other;  immediately to Councillors and the Demerger Committee, and to make these documents publicly available;

8. Invites the Demerger Committee to review and amend any documents associated with the development of the demerger business case, including any brief to consultants, to ensure: 

a)   They outline the development of a strong and positive business case which reflects the desire of our community to demerge; and

b)   They adhere to the NSW Government Guidelines for business cases which includes the provision that there is stakeholder engagement.  

9. Reviews the demerger process timeline as outlined by the General Manager at the residents’ meeting on April 7, taking on board the NSW Government business case guidelines about consultation with Councillors and community; and utilising professional expertise in the preparation of a strong and effective business case;

10. Convenes public meetings across the three former Councils to consult the community on the demerger process and to summarise details of the business case which will support the outcome of the demerger poll; and

11. Provide fortnightly updates on progress with the demerger case on Council’s website.  

Motion Lost

For Motion:                 Crs Atkins, Da Cruz, Griffiths, Langford, Lockie, Shetty and Stamolis

Against Motion:          Crs Byrne, D'Arienzo, Drury, Howard, Scott, Smith, Stephens and Tsardoulias

Meeting closed at 10.54pm.

Public Speakers:

Item #	Speaker	Suburb
Item 1:	Rochelle Porteous Pip Hinman	Balmain East Newtown

Unconfirmed minutes of the Extraordinary Council meeting held on 10 May 2022.