Yarra council’s cycle of high wages and waste
A SECOND Melbourne council is considering dumping Australia Day, despite Yarra council being stripped of its powers to hold citizenship ceremonies after it scrapped the national day.
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A SECOND Melbourne council is considering dumping Australia Day, despite Yarra council being stripped of its powers to hold citizenship ceremonies after it scrapped the national day.
Yarra Council faced a wave of bipartisan criticism after it voted to stop holding citizenship ceremonies on January 26 and ban all references to Australia Day.
But Darebin Mayor Kim Le Cerf confirmed the council would still consider dumping its own citizenship ceremonies from January 26 at a meeting next month.
“Darebin Council continues to recognise that Australia Day has different meaning for our diverse community, particularly the First Nations people,” she said.
“Any future decision we make as a council regarding Australia Day events and citizenship ceremonies will reaffirm our long and proud history and commitment to reconciliation.”
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The Yarra councillors who scrapped Australia Day quietly awarded themselves the largest possible pay rise, and are considering a special human rights charter for residents.
Yarra council is also spending $102,000 of ratepayers’ money on a stolen generations “marker”, and routinely splurges on a range of upmarket bicycles for staff.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday stripped the Greens-dominated council of its powers to conduct any citizenship ceremonies after it voted to ditch Australia Day.
Aspiring citizens in the area must now attend citizenship ceremonies in neighbouring council areas.
The federal government warned council that its action was a significant breach of the Australian Citizenship Ceremonies Code.
“This is an attack on Australia Day and a repudiation of the values the day celebrates — freedom, a fair go, mateship and diversity,” Mr Turnbull said.
A Herald Sun probe found Yarra council is weighed down by costly administration, mired in bureaucracy, and distracted by social issues.
Councillors voted to give themselves allowances in the top band, even though Greens recently said residents should stump up for a bin tax to cover climbing costs.
Mayor Amanda Stone will receive $83,790, while councillors get $27,079. Councillors also claim thousands of dollars for expenses, including childcare.
Council’s five-year plan includes examining whether to introduce a social justice or human rights charter, to align with its values.
A stolen generations marker is to be installed in Fitzroy’s Atherton Gardens estate, as part of an Aboriginal Partnerships Plan. Indigenous artists were invited to submit ideas for the project to which the state government will contribute $50,000.
Earlier this year, council unsuccessfully tried to charge a bin tax on top of rates. It has also proposed a memorial plaque to heroin victims.
A Herald Sun poll of 100 Yarra residents on Wednesday found 60 supported keeping Australia Day on January 26.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten backed the Prime Minister, saying reconciliation was more about changing hearts than moving a public holiday.
But Cr Stone hit out: “It’s a really disappointing comment from a Prime Minister who understands what reconciliation means and would surely know what January 26 represents to Aboriginal people.
“Persisting with that date as a day of national celebration is actually a divisive date because it excludes the whole proportion of our population who don’t feel this is relevant to them.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback ... I’ve just come out of an advisory meeting where they all clapped and cheered,” Cr Stone said.
But the Greens mayor said January 26 would still be a holiday for council staff.
Fellow Greens councillor Misha Coleman said: “I’m a seventh generation Australian, and I want to celebrate being Australian, but not on a date which is a day of mourning and sorrow for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.”
Another Green, Cr Mike McEvoy, said: “It’s very hard to understand how the indigenous community feel on January 26. ”
Socialist councillor Stephen Jolly who had unsuccessfully proposed at least retaining a January 26 citizenship ceremony, said: “For many indigenous people, they consider January 26 as invasion day. We should listen to the First Australians, and there’s got to be a better day.”
Other councillors James Searle (Greens); Mi-Lin Chen Yi Mei and Danae Bosler (Labor); and Daniel Nguyen and Jackie Fristacky (independents) did not respond to calls from the Herald Sun.
Ros Sultan, an indigenous woman from Collingwood and mother of singer Dan, told a council meeting her people had no reason to celebrate and the symbolism of the change was significant.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the City of Melbourne would “absolutely not” follow Yarra’s lead.
“We will celebrate Australia Day on the 26th as we always do (and) I’d point out that we always have the most senior Wurundjeri elder, Aunty Joy, who does provide a welcome to country in the most generous spirited way on Australia Day for us each year,” he said.
Premier Daniel Andrews also criticised the council’s move: “You can celebrate what modern Australia is, and citizenship ceremonies are a big part of that. It’s truly a magical thing.”
State MP for Richmond Richard Wynne said he would be “devastated” if locals did not get a chance to become citizens on January 26.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the state government should sack “this rabble”.
“There’s nothing more important than the reconciliation of our first people, but the City of Yarra has to ask itself whether a high-profile media war with the Federal Government is the best way to address an issue that means so much to so many indigenous people,’’ Mr Wynne said.
The council has in the past conducted about six citizenship ceremonies a year including on Australia Day.
— with Cassie Zervos
GET ON YOUR BIKES, BIG SPENDERS
FORGET the budget cycle — the fleet of fancy bikes listed on the City of Yarra’s asset register reveals a council keenly interested in its cycle budget.
Three Yarra councillors ride $4000 Gazelle electric bikes — regarded as the Rolls-Royce of bicycles — and ratepayers have funded eight more for “pool” use by council staff.
Other council officers have dedicated access to upmarket bikes with brands including Giant, Avanti and Surly, some with price tags of up to $2000.
The costly two-wheeled fleet is bolstered by 114 council cars. Just a handful are hybrid, raising the eyebrows of critics given the council’s vocal stance on environmental issues.
But while the council — covering inner-city suburbs including Richmond, Collingwood, Fitzroy and Abbotsford — likes to boast of its sustainability credentials, a Herald Sun examination of its financial position reveals seemingly unsustainable trends.
Staff levels, for example, have ballooned in a decade. In 2007, the City of Yarra employed 526 people. Now there are 828 full-time employees on the books — a 57 per cent jump, outstripping population growth in the municipality.
Many staff are very well paid. Latest available figures reveal 49 senior officers report directly to the chief executive and each takes home upwards of $139,000, with three pocketing more than $250,000.
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The council claims its staff numbers are high because it delivers services “in house” and avoids outsourcing.
But Yarra documents show spending on consultants is set to soar, with the most recent annual report anticipating a blowout in consultancy fees from $2.6 million to $17.1 million over the next five years for architectural services, strategic and technical consultants, heritage advisers, project managers and civil designers.
Maintenance and upgrades on the three underused historic town halls — in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond — are among the drains on coffers, costing $9 million in the past three years alone. The rampant spending comes despite the council being $46 million in debt at the end of the 2016-17 financial year.
Yarra Residents Coalition spokesman Brad Marsh criticised the amount spent on upgrading passenger cars, IT equipment and laptops.
“It’s gold-plating. Yarra doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem,” Mr Marsh said.
Yarra socialist councillor Stephen Jolly has been a long-term critic of the “bloated bureaucracy”. “For years I’ve stood with the community against a council that’s put senior bureaucrats and consultants before basic services. The bin tax was just the worst example of this,’’ he said.
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Councillors and the executive team are preparing to dramatically tighten the municipality’s belt after moves to slug residents with a $247 bin tax were dumped, forcing a redraw of the budget.
The council has finally admitted it needs to find $500,000 in “efficiency savings” for each of the next 10 years, and leaders have promised “rigorous service reviews”.
“Staffing levels are carefully monitored by council to ensure they are no more than what is needed to deliver services. But the reality is every time the community aspires to an extra service, program or event, staff need to deliver these,” a note to residents said.
But a draft of the council’s plan for 2017-2021 seen by the Herald Sun reveals continued focus on a grab-bag of non-core issues — including plans to trial an electric bus scheme.
A Yarra council spokesperson denied claims the administration was over-budget, saying: “We are progressively reviewing council’s branches to ensure that we are focusing on the most important services and delivering the best value for money for both council and our community.”
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