Wingecarribee Council: Acting GM Barry Paull on personal leave after alleged ‘assault’

A Southern Highlands councillor has resigned and the acting GM has taken leave as the embattled council prepares to fight a suspension notice from the state government.

Acting General Manager Barry Paull has been replaced after a fiery council meeting last night. Police are currently reviewing an allegation of assault against Mr Paull on the evening of Tuesday March 9 after the Council’s Extraordinary General Meeting.

Mr Paull was absent from yesterday’s council meeting and Mayor Duncan Gair said he has a medical certificate for stress leave.

“Barry Paull has agreed to take personal leave until March 22 or until further decision of Council, whichever occurs first,” a council spokesman said.

Councillor Gary Turland was quick to notice the absence of the Acting General Manager when the meeting began.

“Is he absent because he’s been charged with assault?” he asked.

Barry Paull has worked for Wingecarribee Council fir over 19 years.

Despite complaints from Councillors Turland and Ian Scandrett, the vote to replace Mr Paull was taken into closed council. Councillors voted to install the Manager of Organisational Development John Burgess as the new Acting General Manager.

Mr Burgess has previously been the General Manager of Auburn Council, although he was fired after he reported allegations of corruption. Councillor Peter Nelson said Mr Burgess was very knowledgeable and would be a capable Acting General Manager.

“John Burgess had a great deal of experience in local government,” he said.

Mr Paull has confirmed that he has applied for the role of General Manager of Wingecarribee Shire Council, which was supposed to be short-listed today. Councillors have confirmed the meeting to discuss the shortlist has been cancelled, pending the decision from Minister Hancock about whether the council will be suspended.

John Burgess has been appointed as Acting General Manager of Wingecarribee Council. Picture: Dean Marzolla

Councillor Nelson maintained that he believes Mr Paull would be a frontrunner for the role.

“In my opinion, Barry Paull is still the best man for the job. He’s one of the best if not the best managers I’ve worked for,” he said.

Mayor Gair said he believes the appointment of a general manager will be a task for the administrator.

“I believe that this council will be suspended,” he said.

Mr Paull’s leave comes on the heels of a shock resignation of longstanding councillor Ken Halstead after Tuesday’s Extraordinary General Meeting.

The meeting was held to discuss how the council would respond to its notice of suspension notice from NSW Local Government Minister a week ago. Cr Halstead said that he couldn’t continue in council with the suspension looming.

Cr Halstead, whose biography has already been removed from the website, told the meeting it was with “great regret” he tendered his resignation from the position, effective immediately.

“I certainly don’t want to be part of suspension process and I’m concerned about the ethical principles involved,” he said.

“I’m not ready to be a part of a public battle.”

Despite his concerns about the current suspension process and misgivings about the Office of Local Government, Cr Halstead said he hasn’t ruled out running for re-election.

Wingecarribee councillor and former mayor Ken Halstead has resigned from the council. Picture: Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia

During the meeting, Mayor Duncan Gair put forward a motion to ask for a face-to-face meeting with Minister Hancock to explain the council’s situation, despite only having 24 hours to respond suspension notice.

“The feeling from councillors is that we don’t want to be suspended,” he said.

He suggested a delegation of himself, deputy mayor Grahame Andrews, and Cr Larry Whipper would best represent the councillors. Cr Whipper told the meeting he was surprised that there hadn’t been more interaction between the council and Ms Hancock’s office in the last week.

“We need an opportunity to put our case directly to the Minister and make sure she’s informed when she makes her final decision,” he said.

Councillor Nelson went a step further to say at the meeting that the lack of consultation before the notice of suspension indicated that “democracy has been killed today.”

A running theme throughout the meeting was blaming “a minority of councillors” for the Minister’s action. Cr Whipper said that Minister Hancock’s notice of suspension highlighted the discord between certain councillors rather than the whole council. He believes a selective approach to suspension would be more productive.

“I don’t know why the Minister doesn’t use her power to cherry pick those or that councillors that are causing dysfunction in the chamber,” he said at the meeting.

In a bizarre bid to convince councillors to vote to meet the Minister, Mayor Gair said the councillors would lose their laptops, their phones, their printers and their position in the community.

In the end, five councillors voted for the three delegates to arrange to meet with the Minister to plead their case.

Earlier Tuesday, Wingecarribee Mayor Duncan Gair called for the resignation councillors Ian Scandrett and Garry Turland.

Wingecarribee councillor Garry Turland has defended his actions.

Wingecarribee councillor Ian Scandrett says the mayor’s comments are ‘unbelievable’.

Cr Gair placed the blame for the council’s current situation on the two councillors and said he was “extremely disappointed that is has come to this”.

He said the behaviour of the two councillors had “deteriorated”.

Cr Turland has repeatedly said that he would seek to make council accountable to a higher power.

“It is clear the majority of councillors are unhappy with two dysfunctional councillors,” the Mayor said.

He claimed the two disagreeable councillors have caused the shire to waste thousands of dollars on “bickering”.

NSW Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock has issued a notice of suspension. Picture: Christian Gilles

Wingecarribee Mayor Duncan Gair is calling for the resignation of two councillors.

The entire council is facing suspension for three months after ongoing complaints from both community and government about the toxic culture within the council.

The issues have been rife for over a year and haven’t improved since the imposition of a Performance Improvement Order in September 2020 by Minister Hancock.

Ms Hancock issued a statement last Wednesday and said the potential suspension and possible interim administrator was the result of continuing complaints from the community and local government about the council.

The mayor also took aim at Cr Scandrett’s continued calls for a new council and he had already decided to run for re-election.

Cr Scandrett said the mayor’s comments were “unbelievable” and contradicted the council’s code of conduct.

“If councillors re-stand they will face the community’s support or wrath. I am happy with doing that,” he said.

Cr Scandrett continued his calls for a full public inquiry into the council and the organisation behind it, which he agrees has “a culture of bullying”.

Cr Turland called the mayor’s statement “clear defamation” and said he would be pursuing legal action after tomorrow’s council meeting.

“This is why we need to go into administration, because he has no idea of council practice after 25 years,” he said.

“He’s biased towards some councillors and against councillors.”

Residents of the Southern Highlands have rallied against a number of issues.

According to the mayor, all current councillors will be able to stand for re-election even if the suspension of council goes ahead.

No matter how you may feel about the politics, all readers will agree with Cr Gair’s claim the “community has had enough of the bickering.”

The council has seven days to respond to the notice with Wednesday’s deadline looming.

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