Dubbo mayor Ben Shields in coma after calls to resign
A family spokesman has confirmed embattled Dubbo mayor Ben Shields is on life support in intensive care after a medical episode.
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The mayor of Dubbo Ben Shields is in a coma on life support after a medical episode following a brutal three days which has left Dubbo Regional Council in turmoil.
Ambulance NSW paramedics rushed Cr Ben Shields from his home to Dubbo Base Hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
The Triple-0 came after six councillors went public with a signed letter calling for Cr Shields to resign immediately.
On Thursday, a family spokesperson said Cr Shields remained in a critical condition, with his future prognosis uncertain.
On Friday, friend and fellow Cr, Greg Mohr, said Cr Shields was fighting for his life and “being cared for by the wonderful staff at Dubbo Hospital”.
“The family cannot thank these medical professionals enough for their care and compassion,” he said.
“The messages of support to the family from the community during this extremely difficult time have been appreciated.”
Shortly before he was rushed to hospital Cr Shields posted: “I have only ever done what is right for Dubbo” to his Facebook page.
After accusing Cr Shields of mishandling a Bunnings development application and a request to give public land to a sporting club, deputy mayor Stephen Lawrence led calls for Cr Shields’s resignation.
Cr Lawrence has now been appointed acting mayor.
“The mayor is on indefinite medical leave, his family has asked that his privacy be respected,” he said.
“I want to assure the community that the day-to-day operations and service provision of council are continuing uninterrupted.”
Dubbo Council CEO Michael McMahon confirmed he received a letter from councillors calling for an extraordinary meeting where a motion of no confidence in the mayor was likely to be moved.
“In taking into consideration the mayor’s extended medical leave and appropriateness of ensuring the mayor is present for such a meeting, council has two weeks to arrange an extraordinary meeting and will have discussions with the six councillors to determine an appropriate date for that meeting,” Mr McMahon said.
Hundreds of Cr Shield’s supporters have taken to Facebook to urge him to pull through and praise his work as mayor.
“If they really care about what’s best for the people of the region they’d realise you’ve done more for us than anyone,” Leah Bear wrote.
“What you have done for this town is amazing ... you promote our beautiful town like no one before,” Malinda Bateup said.
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 or visit beyondblue.org.au
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au
MAYOR TAKES MEDICAL LEAVE - WEDNESDAY, March 31
Dubbo mayor Ben Shields has taken indefinite medical leave after six councillors signed a letter calling for him to resign and for an extraordinary council meeting to be held.
On Wednesday, a council spokesperson said deputy mayor Stephen Lawrence would serve as acting mayor while Cr Shields was on leave.
“During this time, Cr Shields and his family have asked that his privacy be respected,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Four hours before the statement was released the deputy mayor and councillors John Ryan, Anne Jones, Vicki Etheridge, Kevin Parker and Jane Diffey signed off on a letter to council CEO Michael McMahon which called for an extraordinary council meeting to be held.
In the letter, the councillors said they intended to move seven motions at the extraordinary meeting, including one which expresses no confidence in the mayor and calls on him to resign immediately as mayor and a councillor.
One of the proposed motions asked for a confidential report to be prepared for councillors “advising on any and all complaints, allegations and suggestion of misconduct on behalf of the mayor that have any stage of the term of council been brought to the attention of any council staff and not been the subject of a code of conduct process”.
Cr Shields said he had “only ever done what is right for Dubbo” and would not stand down.
Another proposed motion calls on community members to come forward with any complaints they have about their dealings with the mayor.
Deputy mayor Stephen Lawrence said councillors wanted to strip the mayor of his phone, car and office.
“I think Ben will eventually voluntarily stand down,” he said.
“It is totally untenable for the mayor to continue in office.
“The day-to-day operations of council continue.”
The council and the mayor have been contacted for comment.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday after calls were made on radio for him to resign, Cr Shields said he would not be standing down.
HOW THE WEEK STARTED - MONDAY, March 29
Dubbo mayor Ben Shields has been told to quit by his deputy and another councillor who have accused him of damaging public confidence in the council, however his backers claim the move is an election stunt.
In an interview on local radio on Monday, deputy mayor Stephen Lawrence took aim at Cr Shields for his handling of a development application to build a new Bunnings at the old RAAF Base in Dubbo.
Cr Lawrence said he was concerned about a press conference the mayor arranged, to welcome the lodging of the DA and potential benefits it could bring to Dubbo.
“This is a controversial application, it’s a part of Dubbo very dear to people … what the community’s entitled to expect from council is that council is fair and balanced, and council is the guardian of the public interest,” Cr Lawrence told ABC Western Plains.
“When you have a mayor standing with a property developer in a press conference … in circumstances where council is yet to consider the matter, you have a situation where public confidence in planning processes is being undermined.
“I think it’s completely untenable that he stays as head of council in circumstances where his actions have undermined public confidence in our planning and DA processes.”
Cr Lawrence said despite the council having made no decision about the Bunnings DA, which is still being assessed by staff, many people in the community had wrongly assumed the development application was approved because of the mayor’s press conference.
The call for the mayor to resign was backed by Cr John Ryan, who joined Cr Lawrence for the ABC interview and said the handling of the DA was not the only cause for concern.
Cr Ryan claimed Cr Shields gave councillors 20 minutes notice of a proposal to give in-principle support to a sporting club’s request to be given 10 hectares of Regand Park to construct new playing fields and sports facilities.
“The mayor is a bloke who loves Dubbo and he’s done a lot of good things for Dubbo, but you cannot make decisions by yourself, you need to bring the councillors and the community along, you need a consensus,” Cr Ryan said.
“I think everything is broken and we need to have a reset.”
Cr Lawrence said the surprise sporting field issue was “appalling process”.
“To be confronted with the situation where you have a very powerful mayor, giving councillors half an hour notice and trying to get through in principle support for handing public land to private interests in circumstances where there has been years of consultation and policy development over that parcel of land, I just think is simply disgraceful,” he said.
“I’m not suggesting anything untoward, it’s just appalling process but it leads to a perception in the community of favouritism.”
Councillor Greg Mohr hit back at Cr Lawrence and suggested his call for the mayor to resign was motivated by his desire to become mayor.
“It’s just political spin for an election, if this is how he wants to occupy the mayor seat then I think he’s going the wrong way about it,” Cr Mohr said.
“I know from previous experience, when Cr Shields was deputy mayor to Mathew Dickerson not once did he publicly go out and criticise him without going to Mathew first.
“It’s vital that stuff like this should be sorted out behind closed doors before it’s put out in the public arena. I’m fully supportive of the mayor and he’s not going anywhere.”
When asked about Cr Mohr’s comments, Cr Lawrence said “Cr Mohr is someone I have a lot of respect for and someone who I believe will do the right thing”.
Councillor Dayne Gumley said it was difficult not to see the calls for the mayor to resign as a politically motivated move.
“It’s completely blindsided me this morning,” Cr Gumley said.
“The strength in the leadership of council has always been a positive … we’ve had our disagreements, we generally work them out. I’ve banged on for three and a half years about how cohesive this council is and how disagreements are handled … for this to happen … it’s disappointing at best.
“The deputy mayor calling for the resignation of the mayor, if the mayor decides that he’s going to acquiesce to that demand, the balls in the deputy mayor’s court.”
Cr Kevin Parker said “I don’t know what’s going on” when he was asked for his reaction to the deputy mayor’s call.
Cr Vicki Etheridge said “I don’t know anything”.
Wellington-based councillors David Grant and Anne Jones, along with Cr John Ryan, could not be reached for comment.
Cr Jane Diffey declined a request to comment.
It’s understood the leadership dispute forced the cancellation of a planned Easter tourism media event on Monday morning and crisis talks were held at council’s Darling Street headquarters on Monday afternoon.
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 or visit beyondblue.org.au
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au
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