By Alesha Capone
Wyndham council will meet on June 23 to consider whether to replace Kim McAliney’s vacated position with a new councillor, or not.
Long-serving councillor Ms McAliney resigned last week.
The decision, which took immediate effect, was announced at a council meeting last Tuesday.
Ms McAliney served on the council for 11 years, including two terms as mayor and two as deputy mayor.
Ms McAliney issued a statement about her resignation last week.
However, the statement did not give a reason for Ms McAliney’s resignation, which comes ahead of the state-wide council elections to be held in October.
Star Weekly also contacted Ms McAliney seeking further comment on her reason for resigning, which she declined to give.
After being contacted by Star Weekly, the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) issued a statement which said it has received notification of Ms McAliney’s resignation – which it described as an “extraordinary vacancy” – from Wyndham council.
The VEC statement said that that the council would notify the Minister for Local Government and the VEC “if it determines the extraordinary vacancy is to be filled before the October 2020 general elections, in which case a countback will be used to fill the vacancy rather than a by-election”.
Under the Local Government Act, if an extraordinary vacancy occurs within six months of the next general election, the default position is that it will not be filled unless the council determines otherwise.
Wyndham council issued a statement last week, following Ms McAliney’s resignation.
The statement said that Ms McAliney “has been a passionate advocate for residents and community groups in the Harrison Ward and has made a valuable contribution as council’s delegated representative on a number internal and external advisory committees”.
Ms McAliney’s own statement thanked the many community leaders and groups in Wyndham that she has worked with during her time on council.
Ms McAliney also acknowledged the assistance she had received from Wyndham’s executive staff, senior management and other staff during her time on council.
Ms McAliney said: “I believe a platform of good governance, transparency and integrity and making decisions on the best outcomes for the residents of Wyndham is a successful foundation in the future of the City of Wyndham.”
