investigation
Mount Magnet: How stoush between residents and council has led to bad blood boiling over

Lost jobs, hostile council meetings, a community member locked out of council property and hurt feelings — a stoush between a group of residents and the local council has become a powder keg in a small Murchison town. At one end of the Mt Magnet spat is a group led by a former councillor and a former library officer, who claim the council lacks accountability. On the other end, the local Shire CEO and president say the complaints are unwarranted and those complaining are vexatious and wasting time that should be spent advocating for improving the town. The Midwest Times spoke to about a dozen people last week who say they have lost faith in the Shire and would like to see it investigated. But others are tired of the disunity and speak highly of the Shire’s senior management. Long-term resident, former councillor and self-proclaimed “rusted on barnacle” Eliz Morris said: “We should be fighting the (State and Federal) Government for resources and services, not with each other”. RESTRUCTURE DRAMA A series of incidents, including a councillor being voted off the council, a staff restructuring and a reconciliation wall, have fuelled tensions in the towns. Former library officer Monica Watson, one of at least five disgruntled former staff members, is outspoken in her criticism of the restructure. She was terminated in April 2020 and, because of a settlement agreement, she cannot discuss the events leading up to her dismissal. However, as a ratepayer, she said the new organisational structure had ruined careers in local government. “If it was done with integrity, the community wouldn’t feel slighted,” she said. Shire president Jorgen Jensen denied a hidden agenda, claiming he followed correct procedure. He said the Shire was restructured to engage a deputy chief executive to improve the organisation’s accounting capacity. “When you do restructure, staff are offered to apply for the position ... if they don’t and choose to leave, so be it,” he said. Mary Iveson was offered a part-time position at the visitor centre in February 2019, but was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. She claims the chief executive told her he would keep the position open for when she was well. When she arrived back in town, her job was gone. Ms Iveson has since done casual work at the centre and been invited to apply for the part-time role. She declined, saying she felt burnt by past experiences. Shire chief executive Kelvin Matthews said Ms Iveson was a casual staff member, was never promised the role, and that the Shire was bound by employment procedures. WALL OF COMPLAINTS The police building reconciliation wall, funded by the Ramelius Resources Community Benefit Fund, created another sore point in late 2019. The wall’s critics claimed their issues were procedural, but voices from the Indigenous community say the objection was hurtful. A few anonymous voices in town claim they felt left out of the project, which they say had more to do with police — who they said often didn’t stick around for long — and the town’s Badimia community. “The community funding should not have gone towards a State Government building,” an anonymous ratepayer said. One Aboriginal person, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It seems that the minute the Aboriginal community do anything good, some people in the non-Indigenous community jump up and down and are not very nice.” “As an Aboriginal person, I’ve been dealing with this the whole time I’ve been on this Earth ... it makes us more resilient and stronger and appreciate other people’s views.” Badimia woman Cr Cecilia Kelly said: “96 per cent of the community came together to create that wall. “It meant a lot to the elders. “It’s about respect, unity and all coming together ... it’s time we came together for our children and grandchildren.” Cr Jensen said the wall was beautiful and he couldn’t see an issue with it. “The Shire, through Ramelius Benefits Fund, backed that with $10,000 funding,” he said. “Some of the people that complained about that wall showed their true colours.” In November 2020, the Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards recognised the wall in the culture and heritage category. LOCKED OUT On February 8, former councillor Karen Williams was banned from all council property for four weeks when Mr Matthews accused her of damaging Shire property and abusing the new library officer. This included the Mount Magnet Seniors Centre, where she is the co-ordinator. Local police say officers investigated the incident but didn’t lay charges. Ms Williams took the matter to the Ombudsman, who dismissed the case within a few weeks. She is appealing the decision, saying she hadn’t seen the evidence that led to the dismissal. In a statement, the WA Department of Local Government confirmed a chief executive could ban a ratepayer from council property. Mr Matthews took full responsibility for the ban, saying: “I would not, and still will not, tolerate any person bullying or harassing staff.” He claims Ms Williams pulled a CCTV camera sign from a wall in the library, acted aggressively towards a Shire staff member, and refused to sign a COVID-19 register. “I just said ‘you’re banned until you apologise’ and that was like pulling teeth out of a chook’s head,” he said. Ms Williams sent an apology letter on February 25, and the ban was lifted on March 10. ‘VEXATIOUS’ CLAIMS There are now people in the town claiming distrust in the Shire. About 75 critical questions or statements have been put to the Shire at council meetings since December 2019, with roughly half lodged by Ms Williams or Ms Watson. “A small handful of us are putting these complaints forward on behalf of a much larger group ... I get pulled up by people all the time asking me to solve problems,” Ms Watson said. Ms Williams and Ms Watson defend their right to ask questions. They say the CEO and president are bullying them at meetings and tarnishing their reputation by labelling them “troublemakers” to avoid taking accountability. Ms Watson’s queries relate to alleged poor transparency, overspending and disrespectful dealings with community members. One formal complaint from February 2020 was signed by Ms Williams and three other people. Among a sea of complaints, Ms Watson also took issue with the tender process of a $64,000 demolition project, proposals for an unmanned petrol station, inaccurate meeting minutes, breathalysers used on staff, and use of CCTV camera footage. Ms Williams shared many of Ms Watson’s concerns, but also criticised things such as the degradation of the main road from truck use, management of the local pool, spending on the Astro Rocks Festival, the purchase of a $500 block of land and a Shire-funded trip to Canberra. Complaints from people associated with the pair relate to mosquito fogging, a Shire car’s window tinting, and a $466 mobile phone bill. Mr Matthews and Cr Jensen have acted on or defended each complaint, labelling them “vexatious”, and deny being intimidating at council meetings. “I am happy to get criticism,” Cr Jensen said, claiming always to act on thoughtful complaints. “There’s a core group of five people. There’s probably another four or five who are backing them a little bit. “Trying to accomplish projects is hard at the best of times, but the way they are behaving is just making things that much harder.” Ms Williams and Ms Watson claim to have placed countless complaints to the Department of Local Government, calling for real investigation into the Shire. But a department spokesperson said: “(It) had not received any formal complaints related to Mr Matthews as current CEO of the Shire of Mount Magnet.”

investigationMount Magnet: How stoush between residents and council has led to bad blood boiling over

investigation
Mount Magnet: How stoush between residents and council has led to bad blood boiling over