Onkaparinga Council paid for Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg’s trips to the Australian Open

EXCLUSIVE: The council embroiled in a golf fee scandal involving its CEO also used ratepayer funds to finance trips by its mayor to watch the Australian Open tennis in Melbourne.

Onkaparinga City mayor Lorraine Rosenberg went to watch the tennis at the Australian Open and her council paid.

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THE council embroiled in a golf fee scandal involving its CEO also used ratepayer funds to finance trips by its mayor to watch the Australian Open tennis in Melbourne.

Onkaparinga Council Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg defended her VIP trips as “part of my civic duties”, but couldn’t recall the number of grand slam events she attended and their cost.

“I would say it has been four times, but it may be five, it may be three,” a defiant Ms Rosenberg told The Advertiser before releasing a statement late Thursday confirming trips to the Aussie Opens in 2011, 2013 and 2016.

Ms Rosenberg, who is also president of the Local Government Association, said the “event tickets were free” but the council footed the bill for $2429 for accommodation and economy airfares.

“These visits helped to build and maintain relationships with Tennis Australia and Tennis SA and helped us maintain our status as host of the annual ATP Onkaparinga Challenger event at Happy Valley,” Ms Rosenberg said.

Onkaparinga Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg tweets from the Australian Open. Picture: Twitter

To support her claims that it was “money well spent”, Ms Rosenberg included in her statement to The Advertiser a positive response from Simon Longhurst, president of the Happy Valley Tennis Club.

“Each year the event attracts between 40 and 60 of the world’s top players, their families and coaches, delivering economic benefits to our city,” he said.

As ratepayers’ anger continued over the council’s decision to pay a golf membership fee of $6800 for CEO Mark Dowd, the former boss of the Onkaparinga Ratepayers’ Association, John Houlahan, slammed the latest revelation as more “wasted money”.

Onkaparinga Council CEO Mark Dowd on the golf course.

Mr Houlahan said the southern-suburbs council covered some very poor areas where people were struggling to pay for council rates.

“This is just another waste of ratepayers’ money and people have just been taken for a ride and treated like a bottomless money pit,” he said.

“There are a lot of people here who are just trying to pay their bills, pay their rent, and put food on the table.

“But the CEO is off playing golf, paid by the ratepayer, at the Kooyonga Golf Club and the Mayor is watching the tennis.”

Onkaparinga Council will hold a special council meeting on Tuesday to debate the $6800 payment to Mr Dowd, including whether it should be paid back.

Ms Rosenberg along with a guest had been given day tickets to the prestigious President’s Reserve at Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open.

The gift has been for council spending of $50,000 in cash each year and about $25,000 on in-kind support for an ATP pro tournament in the council area at Happy Valley.

Ratepayers footed the bill for flights and accommodation, which are not part of the sponsorship deal.

Ms Rosenberg said she was representing the council on official business at the Australian Open and it was appropriate that the council voted for her reimbursement.

A screengrab from Onkaparinga Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg’s Faceboo page, showing a post from the Australian Open. Picture: Facebook

In Parliament on Thursday, Local Government Minister Geoff Brock refused to defend the interests of Onkaparinga ratepayers when questioned by the Opposition’s David Pisoni about the $6800 payment.

“The council have that opportunity to debate that within their thing. If elected members don’t believe that it is appropriate for a CEO to have those conditions, then in actual fact it’s up to the elected members to make that decision,” Mr Brock said.

Mr Pisoni said the Liberals’ policy of rate-capping, should it win government, would help cut back on spending like the golf club membership.

“Geoff Brock fails to understand that ratepayers should not be paying thousands of dollars for council CEOs’ fees to exclusive golf clubs,” he said. The 2013 invitation for Ms Rosenberg and her guest shows they enjoyed lunch at the President’s Lounge as well as all-day tennis action.

“The tickets are provided to a mayor plus a guest as part of our sponsorship,” Ms Rosenberg said.

“It is usually on the Friday, which is the third or fourth day of the Open, so it is not the finals and each of the councils that provide sponsorship for ATP tournaments are invited.

“The cost to council is my airfare to get there and, if the timing is such that I have to stay overnight, accommodation for one night.”

Mr Dowd has not responded to a request for comment first made by The Advertiser on Tuesday after it was reported that the Ombudsman had ruled the council should not have reimbursed him for his golf fee of $6800 at the prestigious Kooyonga course, far removed from the council area.

The Ombudsman made no criticism of Mr Dowd.

He also said the council should not have voted to eject members of the public from its meeting endorsing the payment, nor should it have kept the matter secret for two years.