Cairns councillors revolt against mayor Amy Eden after city leader refuses to apologise to new CEO
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden has refused to apologise to her CEO with councillors sensationally backing the recently appointed administrator in a bid to end speculation over the key civic post.
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Cairns Mayor Amy Eden has refused to apologise to her CEO with councillors sensationally backing the recently appointed administrator in a bid to end speculation over the key civic post.
It’s understood an email attacking chief executive Ken Gouldthorp sent by Ms Eden in December has dramatically backfired on the city’s top office holder.
The highly critical email of Mr Gouldthorp — which included an anonymous letter the mayor claimed she received recently — has united councillors against her, with even the most ardent Eden loyalists now questioning her leadership.
The unsubstantiated accusations within the letter, which has been seen by the Cairns Post, are so serious they are considered to be potentially defamatory by some councillors.
Details of the leaked correspondence, exclusively revealed in the Weekend Post, prompted a series of crisis meetings on Spence St with angry councillors demanding Ms Eden issue a public apology to her top administrator.
Despite impassioned arguments from elected representatives running over the course of several days, Ms Eden has strongly defended her position and refused to say sorry.
But in an extraordinary counter offensive, it’s understood all nine councillors have pushed Ms Eden to formally rubber stamp Mr Gouldthorp’s position at the council’s next ordinary meeting.
The motion to endorse the experienced campaigner is expected to be unanimously supported by councillors.
It will also mean that Mr Gouldthorp, who won the job in October, can carry on with council business, such as stage one of the $472m Cairns Water Security Project, without the threat of still being on probation.
It is also hoped the motion will be a step towards building confidence within the business sector.
‘COMMITTED TO DELIVERING’
In a statement issued exclusively to the Cairns Post, Ms Eden confirmed she had now backflipped on her previous position and would now support the highly experienced local government administrator to carry on in his current role.
“I’d like to put discussion about the future of the Cairns Regional Council CEO Ken Gouldthorp to bed once and for all,” she said.
“Ken has my full support, and over the past three months since his appointment we have developed a strong working relationship, and with so much on the agenda we are committed to delivering for our residents.
“As such, at the ordinary meeting on Wednesday 12 February, I will be moving a motion that confirms Ken’s ongoing engagement as the CEO of Cairns Regional Council.
“The circumstances prior to Ken’s appointment created a difficult start for both him and I, but there’s been strong momentum since he started.”
Ms Eden’s performance as mayor has been riddled with controversy, infighting and the steady exodus of experienced high level staff at a critical time for the municipality.
The civic leader, who threatened to resign after her former campaign adviser John Andrejic missed out on the top job to Mr Gouldthorp late last year, is rapidly running out of allies within the council, according to multiple sources.
The mayor’s shock announcement last month that the council should consider using ratepayer money to buy a stake into the North Queensland Airports Group, valued at $3bn, was seen by some political observers as a chance to deflect attention from her own email scandal.
But insiders believe the lack of support from within the council will make it almost impossible for Ms Eden to lobby for major projects or changes to policy throughout the rest of her term.
BIG SPENDER
Councillors’ united stance is also expected to mark an end to the spending incurred at the ratepayers’ expense under Ms Eden’s stewardship.
Among those are former CEO Mica Martin’s payout, which with one year left to run on her contract had been estimated by one former Far North chief executive to be in excess of $300,000, and the hiring of two personal advisers to the mayor, Gavin King and Bree Graafland, who both earn more than $150,000 per year.
Ms Graafland quit in January.
A council spokesman didn’t answer whether the key hiring received a payout.
In August, the council approved a $30,000 two-day “workshop” for councillors held at an adults-only resort in Palm Cove.
Ratepayers were also slugged with an estimated $40,000 more for upgrades to the mayor’s office and a councillors’ induction ceremony held at Ms Eden’s behest.
More recently, the council has refused to divulge the cost of videos produced for the mayor’s personal social media accounts which were outsourced to an external company.
Deputy Mayor Brett Olds said it was time for the council to turn its attention to more pressing matters.
“Ken has the full support of all councillors,” Mr Olds said. “In the time Ken has been here, he has gained the confidence of the full council and staff.
“He is providing valuable leadership as we work through the recent challenges.”
Only one Team Eden councillor, Division Four’s Trevor Tim, was elected alongside Ms Eden at the local government election in March last year.
Cairns Regional Council declined to answer further questions from the Cairns Post on Thursday.
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