Wyndham council will not be sacked despite widespread reports on Monday that it was one of 13 Victorian councils to be stood down as of September 1.
Confusion reigned after widespread media reports on Monday claimed the council would be disqualified for not correctly signing a new code of conduct by the July 4 deadline.
It was reported that more than 100 councillors would be disqualified and administrators appointed until the October 22 elections.
The state government stepped in on Tuesday and said it would amend the Local Government Act to ensure the councillors stay in office.
Acting Local Government Minister Richard Wynne blamed the ‘confusion’ on the councils.
“The councils have admitted themselves to gross incompetence in not meeting this simple requirement, and they have asked the government for a solution to ensure ratepayers don’t suffer as a result of these mistakes,” he said.
But Wyndham council chief executive Kelly Grigsby said the action taken by the government was in response to “poorly worded legislation”.
“It is questionable … that councils have admitted to gross incompetence when we are yet to be formally notified of the issue with the documentation provided to the [Local Government] Inspectorate.
“It is pleasing that common sense has prevailed in relation to this matter,” Ms Grigsby said.
“It is clear that the lack of communication from the Inspectorate has resulted in this mess, as councils were simply left to interpret this legislation individually.”
She said each of Wyndham’s 11 councillors had reaffirmed their commitment to the code within the prescribed time period.
Municipal Association of Victoria chief executive Rob Spence said it was important that the state government learned a lesson from this bungled process.
“Unfortunately, the state has chosen to attack councils, release factually misleading information and failed to acknowledge there were multiple failures on both sides which contributed to this issue.”
