❓ Mr. Marmion questions the Minister regarding the ongoing inquiry into the Town of Cambridge, focusing on communication between the Director General and the Town, specific concerns, and the inquiry's timeline and scope. The Minister provides limited answers, citing the ongoing nature of the inquiry.
AnsweredQoN 6116Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) I refer to the Inquiry into the operations and affairs of the Town of Cambridge authorised by the Director General of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) in April 2018. Can the Minister confirm: (a) That the Director General (DG) wrote to the Town of Cambridge on 6 November 2019 in regard to the Authorised Inquiry and requested the Town undergo a Governance Review with agreement between the Town and the Department on the scope of works; (b) That in his letter of 6 November 2019 the DG also advised that "With accountability and transparency ongoing and a Governance review to support the changes made by the Town, the Department would be satisfied the Town is governing and operating towards the best interests of the community and will withdraw the Authorised Inquiry."; (c) That the DG received a letter, dated 29 November 2019, on 2 December 2019 from the Chief Eexecutive Officer (CEO) of the Town of Cambridge in which the CEO outlined the Council's resolution from its meeting of 26 November in response the DG's letter of 6 November 2019; (d) That on 2 December 2019, the DG appointed 5 additional Authorised Inquiry Officers to recommence the existing Authorised Inquiry; (e) That on 10 December 2019, the DG wrote to the Town of Cambridge in response to the CEO's letter of 29 November 2019 advising that he was not satisfied that the resolution passed by Council at its 26 November meeting warranted the withdrawal of the Authorised Inquiry and that the Inquiry would continue until further notice; and (f) That the DG has not responded to the letter dated 20 December 2019 from the CEO of the Town of Cambridge in which he reported on the resolutions passed by Council at its meeting held on 17 December 2019 and which authorised him to seek particulars about what concerns the DLGSC have that justifies the continuation of the Authorised Inquiry? (2) Can the Minister advise what specific concerns DLGSC still have in regards to the Town of Cambridge and what additional aspects warrant a further Governance Review following the near completion of the current governance review being undertaken? (3) Given that the Authorised Inquiry has been going for more than 2 years, can the Minister provide a target date for its completion? (4) Can the Minister advise if the Authorised Inquiry has sought to interview all Councillors and ex-Councillors as part of its deliberations, and if not, is there a reason? (5) Has the Minister met officially or had discussions with any existing or ex-Councillors of the Town of Cambridge, including the Mayor, since the Authorised Inquiry commenced in April 2018?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
16 June 2020
Responded by
Minister for Local Government; Heritage; Culture and the Arts
Response time
8 days
(1)(a) Yes
(b) Yes
(c) Yes
(d) The Authorised Inquiry was not recommenced as it was ongoing. Officers are required to be authorised under the provisions of section 8.3(2) of the Local Government Act 1995.
(e) Yes
(f) The DLGSC received an undated letter on 21 January 2020 from the CEO, Town of Cambridge detailing the 17 December 2019 Council Resolutions which did not require a response.
(2) It would not be appropriate to comment on the Authorised Inquiry until the Report has been completed.
(3) It would not be appropriate to comment on the Authorised Inquiry until the Report has been completed.
(4) It would not be appropriate to comment on the Authorised Inquiry until the Report has been completed.
(5) The Minister and the Director General met with the Town of Cambridge on 26 May 2020 and issued a show cause notice.
(b) Yes
(c) Yes
(d) The Authorised Inquiry was not recommenced as it was ongoing. Officers are required to be authorised under the provisions of section 8.3(2) of the Local Government Act 1995.
(e) Yes
(f) The DLGSC received an undated letter on 21 January 2020 from the CEO, Town of Cambridge detailing the 17 December 2019 Council Resolutions which did not require a response.
(2) It would not be appropriate to comment on the Authorised Inquiry until the Report has been completed.
(3) It would not be appropriate to comment on the Authorised Inquiry until the Report has been completed.
(4) It would not be appropriate to comment on the Authorised Inquiry until the Report has been completed.
(5) The Minister and the Director General met with the Town of Cambridge on 26 May 2020 and issued a show cause notice.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.