City of Perth Council House lit up.
Camera IconCity of Perth Council House lit up. Credit: Supplied/Wikipedia

City of Perth CEO met with WorkSafe over ‘substantial number’ of concerns about councillors’ behaviour

Denise S. CahillEastern Reporter

THERE were a “substantial number” of incidences where City of Perth elected members behaved in a “concerning nature” that were identified mid-last year.

In a statement from the City of Perth this morning, it was revealed that chief executive Martin Mileham requested a meeting with representatives of Worksafe in mid-2017 and a meeting was held on July 14 seeking guidance to ensure a safe workplace.

Following this advice, Mr Mileham then requested a review of existing processes and protocols to ensure a safe work place was maintained.

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Member’s of the City’s executive leadership team submitted examples where elected members acted in a concerning manner and these were analysed by the Governance manager, who identified communications considered questionable and sent them to legal advisors for assessment.

Instances where it was deemed that elected members had not met the appropriate standard of professional conduct were reported to the Department of Local Government and Communities.

The City’s executive and elected members attended a workshop on November 20 to help ensure effective working relations were established.

The executive sent a letter to the Department of Local Government and Communities on February 12 this year expressing concern about the council’s functioning, including elected members conduct.

This morning’s statement said that administration would work with Local Government Minister David Templeman’s office to continue to make important decisions for the community and deliver high quality services to ratepayers.

It follows Mr Templeman’s decision yesterday to suspend the council.

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