‘Direct verbal attack’: Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer demands apology from union boss
The head of the United Services Union has added further tension within Shellharbour Council walls after backing a Labor councillor’s claims the “so-called independents” are voting in blocks and against ”jobs and career opportunities”.
Illawarra Star
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Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer and his deputy Kellie Marsh have been forced to defend themselves following an attack from the head of a major union group who added more fuel to the “independent alliance” fire.
The fiasco follows a Shellharbour Council meeting in August where the four independent councillors were endorsed to attend next month‘s Local Government NSW Annual Conference.
The mayor and Cr Marsh were selected along with councillors John Davey and Colin Gow, with none of the four Labor councillors picked for the event.
The council also voted against taking a Labor proposal regarding setting a five per cent benchmark for apprenticeships, cadetships and traineeships in local governments to the conference, with the motion defeated five-four.
Labor councillor Rob Petreski labelled the five independents as being part of an “alliance” which was echoed by United Services Union General Secretary, Greame Kelly, who castigated the decision.
“The mayor and deputy mayor clearly do not see employment for youth as important and with their team of alleged independents have taken away an important jobs opportunity for young people in Shellharbour and across the state,” Mr Kelly said.
“The action taken by Mayor Chris Homer is extremely disappointing and has done nothing to support youth employment in Shellharbour.”
Mr Kelly also name-dropped Skydive on the Beach, a skydiving business that recently failed to secure a lease from the city, with the General Secretary calling out the “so-called independents” as ”turning their back on job opportunities in the area”.
On Sunday evening, Cr Petreski took to Facebook to once again vent his frustration with the decision with his post titled “BLOCKED with NO Discussion and NO Debate!”.
Less than 24 hours later, Cr Homer and Cr Marsh delivered a joint statement to “refute the claims” by the USU that the council has “trashed an opportunity to create jobs and careers”.
The mayor said the city was tracking at the five per cent target outlined in the motion and called on Mr Kelly to issue an apology.
“Given that Shellharbour City Council’s CAT workforce is 6.2 per cent (23 positions), Mr Kelly’s comments were not based in fact and were designed to mislead the community,” the mayor said.
“To [say] that Council had ‘dumped’ or ‘trashed’ local youth is insulting and wrong. Mr Kelly is quoted referring to a non-existent policy – the issue related to a proposed motion for the upcoming LGNSW Conference, not a policy. He either did not understand the proposal or deliberately misled the public.
“In any case, I do not believe that metropolitan and large regional councils should be placing an expectation on smaller regional and country councils to meet a particular CAT target. They face different challenges when it comes to staffing, based on population and geography.
“I would encourage Mr Kelly to retract his comments and apologise to myself and Cr Marsh for his direct verbal attack.“
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