Lismore City Council boss Michael Donnelly replaced by John Walker

The fate of Lismore City Council’s general manager has been sealed and an interim leader with ties to the Northern Rivers has taken over. Here’s what happened.

John Walker has taken over as interim general manager at Lismore City Council.

Lismore City Council’s general manager has been removed after a majority of councillors overcame resistance from some of their colleagues.

Micheal Donnelly’s fate was sealed at 11.55pm on Tuesday when his employment was terminated under a ‘no-fault’ clause after a confidential council vote on Tuesday night.

He had been the council’s fifth general manager in a space of six years.

Councillors Darlene Cook, Elly Bird, Vanessa Ekins and Adam Guise voted against removing Mr Donnelly.

Mayor Steve Krieg thanked Mr Donnelly for the work he had done over the past 12 months.

“He has had a positive impact on staff morale and turning council on to the path towards financial stability,” Mr Krieg said.

Michael Donnelly has been removed as General Manager only seven months after he was appointed

Mr Donnelly’s interim replacement will be former Richmond Valley Council and Kalgoorlie/Boulder CEO John Walker.

“This is a part of the world that I know very well and I am happy to be back in Lismore and the Northern Rivers,” Mr Walker said.

“We have a lot of challenges ahead of us to return Lismore City Council to financial sustainability and make it the great and vibrant city it once was.

“Tough decisions must be made but by working together we can achieve a lot for our entire community.”

Lismore City Council interim general manager John Walker

Mr Donnelly had expected to hear his fate on Monday night after a majority of councillors voted in favour of his removal.

However a late-night rescission motion was passed, which gave him another 24-hours in the job.

The sacking comes a year after Shelly Oldham was also removed from her post as general manager in February 2021.