Cairns Regional Council mayor, CEO blocks Amy Eden’s $164K art installation
Cairns Regional Council has stopped four councillors from using their discretionary funds to pay for a $164,000 interactive art piece, which the mayor described as an “illegal” move.
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Cairns Regional Council has stopped four councillors from using their discretionary funds to pay for a $164,000 interactive art piece in which the mayor labelled “illegal”.
Division 5 councillor Amy Eden had proposed an interactive sculpture, titled ‘Dive in’, on the Eastern Plaza of the Cairns Esplanade.
Despite the piece having the backing of the region’s tourism body, mayor Bob Manning said it was “illegal” but stopped short of explaining why.
“It’s just not legally possible,” he said.
“I have always said that these discretionary funds, councillors should avoid them at all costs. It’s enough money, $50,000, to get you into trouble.”
CEO Mica Martin said it was not “deemed to be adequately compliant with relevant legislation, principles and policy under the Councillor Discretionary Fund framework”.
“However, all councillors have the option to submit capital works proposals which would be subject to robust guidelines to assess the priority of the proposal, as well as a whole of council determination. The councillor may choose to do this,” Ms Martin said.
Cairns councillors are each allocated $50,000 annually for discretionary funds under Local Government law.
Cr Eden had teamed up with Rob Pyne, Terry James and Max O’Halloran to cover the cost of the installation.
But the allocation required administrative approval by the mayor and CEO in accordance with Local Government Regulation 2012, and both refused.
Cr Eden claimed the mayor had “stymied a straightforward process”.
“Dive In is an interactive portal sculpture, playfully modelled around the lens of a snorkel mask – a lifestyle icon synonymous with Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef,” Cr Eden said.
“With no funding allocated for public art in the short or long-term budget, use of discretionary funds provided an opportunity to deliver meaningful community infrastructure that would deliver cultural benefits.
“I believe the majority of councillors supported this project.”
Cr Manning said it wasn’t true that he’d stymied the process.
“That’s a stupid statement,” he said.
“I’ve never done that in my life.”
It is understood the Council sought legal advice over the installation but a spokesman refused to disclose the costs associated.
Cr Pyne and Cr O’Halloran both said they believed personality clashes between the mayor and Cr Eden may have played a role in the decision to not approve the installation.
In response to these claims, Cr Eden said: “You’d have to ask the mayor”, as she did not see a reason for refusing approval.
Cr Manning said he had “no response” to such allegations.
Cr Brett Olds said he found this denial of discretionary funds allocation to be unprecedented.
“None of us councillors have been told … why this is illegal. I don’t believe in any way this is illegal,” he said.
“We’re telling the public we’re all about trustworthiness and transparency; I don’t see that reflected in this situation here.”
However, Cr James — who agreed to contribute his funds to the installation if it “complied with the rules” — said the project’s cost had gone too far.
“The CEO checked the rules and found it couldn’t be done. I’m not sure where she looked,” he said.
A complaint about Cr Eden’s conduct in relation to the Dive In project was submitted to the Office of Independent Assessor on August 14, 2022, but the assessor found no further action was deemed necessary.
Mark Olsen, Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO, said he had supported the project but couldn’t comment as to why it had not progressed.
“More than two thirds of consumer destination choice … is generated through word of mouth. Today, word of mouth is principally generated through social media,” Mr Olsen said.
“Now you can share your images with people around the world instantaneously … There’s a value of how much it would cost if you were to try and buy that (equivalent) in advertising.
“Public art is one of those features that plays in. We certainly back the idea of more public art, particularly those that tell our story.”
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Originally published as Cairns Regional Council mayor, CEO blocks Amy Eden’s $164K art installation
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