Wyndham Council: Roads, rates, rubbish and nuclear weapons

A council in Melbourne’s west will discuss joining a nuclear non-proliferation treaty next month despite its own staff saying it was a waste of time.

Cr Robert Szatkowski of Chaffey Ward wants the council to consider joining the nuclear non-proliferation debate. Picture: Wyndham Council

Wyndham Council has come under fire for not getting the “basics” right after a councillor flagged interest in signing the council up to an antinuclear treaty.

Internal correspondence leaked to the Leader reveals new Chaffey Ward Councillor Robert Szatkowski’s desire to join the nuclear weapon non-proliferation debate.

Cr Szatkowski’s instructions, which followed a council officer’s email to him on January 6, were made despite staff making it clear they didn’t believe it was “worthwhile” to get involved.

Mayor Adele Hegedich also didn’t think it was appropriate to take action on the issue, according to the staff email.

The email to Cr Szatkowski reads: “Please see the below letter regarding an invitation for council to sign a treaty to join the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

“I have run this past the (council’s) climate futures team and they don't seem to think it would be worthwhile for us to participate.

“The mayor is also happy to let it go, however she wanted me to run it by you as the portfolio holder.”

Cr Szatkowski is in charge of the council’s climate future and environment portfolio.

On its website, the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons defines itself as a coalition of non-government organisations that back the United Nations’ nuclear ban treaty.

The email to Cr Szatkowski does not say what activities the council must undertake as a signatory to the treaty.

Cr Szatkowski replied to the email to say there was “no harm” in supporting the issue and instructed the staffer to make time for it at the next briefing ahead of next month’s council meeting.

A copy of the email sent by a Wyndham Council staff member to Cr Szatkowski.

Cr Robert Szatkowski’s response to the staff email.

“I have decided that given that no harm can come from supporting this issue, I think it’s appropriate that a proposed notice of motion be discussed with councillors,” Cr Szatkowski wrote.

Cr Szatkowski did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

But one of his councillor colleagues, who would only speak on condition of anonymity, said banning nukes was not the council’s job.

“Ratepayers don’t pay us to work on changing the world on nuclear weapons. They pay us to be focused on rates, roads and rubbish and protecting them during a pandemic,” the councillor said.

Last week, this masthead revealed Wyndham ratepayers were raging because their bins had not been collected on time for weeks.

Some residents said they were waiting up to four days for their bins to be emptied and garbage collectors were allegedly leaving trash and broken bins littered in residential streets.

Ratepayers Victoria spokesman Dean Hurlston said the council’s priorities needed a rethink.

“At a time when Wyndham has been criticised for its poor performance on the basics like rubbish collection, we have more virtue signalling about an issue not related to local council,” Mr Hurlston said.

“Nuclear weapons are not the remit of any council … ratepayers and residents in Wyndham expect elected councillors to focus on local issues that will actually affect how they live, where they live, not far removed international political ideologies.”

West Australian mayor for Freemantle Dr Brad Pettitt sent the treaty invitation to Wyndham Council.

In it, he noted more than 30 Australian cities and towns had pledged their support for the non-proliferation treaty.

Cr Szatkowski was elected to the council last year. It is his first term with the council.

Wyndham Council will meet for its first meeting of the year on February 2.