Liverpool City councillor Betty Green calls for legal advice on Project Control Advisory Committee

A southwest Sydney councillor has raised concerns about the “legality and legitimacy” of a new committee due to fears it could overstep councillors’ involvement in multimillion-dollar development projects.

Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun called for the committee in August during his mayoral minute. Picture: Monique Harmer

A southwest Sydney councillor has raised alarm bells about the “legality and legitimacy” of a new committee due to fears the meetings could overstep councillors’ involvement in multimillion-dollar development projects.

Liverpool City Labor councillor Betty Green called a motion of urgency at the last council meeting requesting independent legal advice about the “charter, purpose, function and operation” of the Project Control Advisory Committee.

The committee was first introduced to councillors in mayor Ned Mannoun’s mayoral minute on August 30 to “provide oversight and guidance on the design, planning, and execution of all council infrastructure projects funded by 7.11 Developer Contributions”.

A 7.11 developer contribution is a monetary contribution levied onto developers at the development application stage to help cover the costs for community facilities and infrastructure.

The committee’s primary focus would ensure “these funds are used effectively and efficiently, delivering high-quality infrastructure that meets the needs of our growing community.”

Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun called for the committee in August during his mayoral minute. Picture: Monique Harmer

Cr Green called for legal advice to address “potential serious risk to councillor involvement in operational decision-making” and the “consistency” of the committee with the Local Government Act for “councillor roles, responsibilities, and functions”.

“It’s something that I have not been comfortable with for quite some time,” she said.

“I need to be assured that this is legal, it is consistent with my councillor roles, responsibilities and functions and that I’m not being asked to step outside those.

“I would feel much more comfortable in being able to know very clearly that the Project Control Committee is a legitimate and legal activity that counsellors can be involved in.”

When Mr Mannoun asked the councillor if her statements implied council had acted outside the Local Government Act by establishing the committee, Cr Green denied the claim.

“The independent legal advice would be to clarify and make it really clear that everything’s okay or if there’s something that needs to be tweaked or changed for that committee to function or to expand,” she said.

Cr Green’s motion was carried unanimously.

Liverpool councillor Betty Green called for a motion of urgency at the last council meeting.

This comes after Mr Mannoun previously said in the August meeting the committee was “crucial to address the challenges presented by delays in infrastructure project investment”.

“The delays in the investment of 7.11 developer contributions infrastructure funding have resulted in additional costs to our ratepayers due to missed opportunities and the depreciation of funds,” he said.

Leppington state Labor MP and now former Liverpool councillor Nathan Hagarty raised a point of order and said the motion breached the spirit of the mayoral minutes due to the complexity of the motion and limited time given to consider it.

“Given the amount of money this committee is going to be looking at, and the complexity of what’s been put in front of us, I don’t think it’s reasonable to give counsellors 15 minutes’ notice to make a decision on what is hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.

Mr Hagarty had moved a motion of dissent which was lost.

Mr Mannoun moved the motion where a draft charter and report would be brought back to council and all members of council would be on the committee.

The committee would meet monthly to “make informed decisions regarding project design, timelines, and budget allocation.”

The motion was unanimously carried.