Ex-Alice Springs councillor Sandy Taylor feels ‘great distress’ at pool redundancies, council responds

A former town councillor says she feels unsafe due to the loss of three staff members at her local pool, but the NT council has moved to soothe fears. Read what they said.

The Alice Springs Aquatic & Leisure Centre. Picture: SUPPLIED

A former Alice Springs councillor has called into question a restructure at the town’s pool, saying she feels “great distress” at the redundancies caused by the council’s efforts to strengthen management at the facility.

Alice Springs Town Council has moved to quell the unrest, noting that as a result of the restructure, positions actually increased at the Alice Springs Aquatic and Leisure Centre (ASALC) and in council’s Technical Services division.

Ex-councillor Sandy Taylor, who was a part of the town’s 11th council from 2008–12, voiced concerns over the restructure at the council’s most recent ordinary meeting on December 12.

The three redundancies at the centre had caused her “great distress,” she said.

Alice Springs Alderman Sandy Taylor. Picture: ASTC.

“I understand that the reorganisation has already taken one of our life savers,” she said.

“Why is it the case that we are laying off people who, to my own little mind, seem valuable indeed?

“I do not feel safe, that person who has been let go was keeping me safe.”

The council’s director of community development, Nicole Battle, rebutted Ms Taylor’s claims and explained the rationale for the restructure.

“About six months ago, we got a consultancy, an external expert, to come in and do a review of how the pool was functioning and what the issues were,” Ms Battle said.

Alice Springs Town Council's director of community development, Nicole Battle. Picture: ASTC

“That person met with all of the staff, had conversations, and the feedback that we got back was that the way that the leadership team was structured was not fit for purpose and we actually needed to invest more into the leadership team, so that we could attract and retain more lifeguards and more learn-to-swim teachers.”

The three redundancies were because the role description “changed by more than 30 per cent,” but in their place, four new positions were created.

One of the affected staff accepted redeployment, while the other two opened to take the voluntary redundancy, Ms Battle told the meeting.

A key change has been the creation of new duty manager positions, workers trained in both lifeguarding and pool operations, with a requirement that they possess a bronze medallion, the minimum standard required to perform lifeguard duties.

“We’ve actually done this in order to increase the number of people who can provide lifeguarding services because it is that and learn-to-swim that are the two most important functions of the centre,” Ms Battle said.

In a statement provided to the NT News, Ms Battle said the restructure would improve patron experience at the pool.

“The restructure that occurred at ASALC was done with a view to creating a more robust management model that will enable us to more effectively supervise (and develop) a larger team of young lifeguards and learn-to-swim teachers, as well as creating a better overall experience for patrons,” Mr Battle said.

“There is a renewed focus on aquatics, with other areas of the operation to transition across to Technical Services, which has more internal capability/experience to oversee building maintenance and the like.”