Clash over committee control over

BY DEB WILLIAMS

A battle over control of the Waverley Council planning committee ended on October 5 when the Greens and Labor lost a rescission motion aimed at overturning the newly-elected mayor’s decision to chair the committee.

On the night of the mayoral election, Councillor Sally Betts indicated she would take up her option as mayor to chair the committee after her nominated councillor, Liberal Tony Kay, lost the vote when independent councillor Miriam Guttman-Jones abstained.

A kerfuffle followed, with Labor and Greens councillors calling for a rescission and then walking out before the vote, leaving the council without a quorum.

Labor councillors John Wakefield and Ingrid Strewe described the process as illegal and wanted to defer the vote so the legality of the process could be investigated. 

Cr Wakefield said there was a need to clarify the regulations and statutory requirements for the process that had been followed during the vote. 

But he said the cost of testing the legalities was prohibitive, especially as they would have to be met by individual councillors or their parties. 

‘I am very disappointed that the council didn’t want to test the legality,’ said Cr Wakefield.  ‘We will be keeping a very close eye on things.’

Cr Guttman-Jones had abstained on the vote for chair of the planning committee but supported the Liberals on the mayoral vote and on the votes for all other committees. She also supported the Liberals against the rescission motion.

Cr Wakefield claimed Cr Betts, now chair of the planning committee, had a record of being pro development and said that at a recent council meeting she had voted in favour of a proposal to lift height restrictions to 25 metres in Bondi Junction.