Local government minister calls for Shire of Coolgardie ‘boundary adjustment’ with Kalgoorlie-Boulder

The State’s local government minister has urged the Shire of Coolgardie to consider moving under the wing of the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder after its “shocking mismanagement and poor governance”. Hannah Beazley called for the “boundary adjustment” in Parliament on Thursday when she delivered a blistering condemnation of the shire’s financial performance in response to a grievance raised by Kalgoorlie MLA Ali Kent. Ms Beazley revealed an audit of the Shire of Coolgardie’s 2023-24 annual financial report from the Office of the Auditor General confirmed “serious concerns” and, as minister, she would take “prompt action”. “While I am assured that no malice has been intended by elected members, nevertheless, shocking mismanagement and poor governance has occurred at the shire,” she said. “There is no hiding the fact that the Shire of Coolgardie is a financial mess and there is a trail of destruction due to poor management and decision-making. “The shire council needs to be accountable for the decisions which have led to its dire financial situation. “I would urge the shire to do what’s right for their community and region and be co-operative in speaking with their neighbouring council at Kalgoorlie-Boulder and jointly support a boundary adjustment.” Ms Beazley said she had arranged a meeting with shire and city representatives and Ms Kent to address the “serious concerns”. The move comes after the shire in March reported an overall debt of about $22 million to the end of January, as well as a forecast $6.64m closing budget deficit for the 2024-25 financial year. The shire has been rolling out various cost-savings to try and reduce the debt, including deciding at this week’s council meeting to start the process of selling the Bluebush Village workers accommodation facility in Kambalda — a major cause of the high debt and cash flow problem. The shire in April also decided to increase the size of its loan with the ANZ by $4m to $12.5m, at the time saying if it did not borrow the money it would not remain financially solvent during the period before new rates income started flowing in August. The shire also proposed to increase mining rates by 119 per cent, which was shut down by Ms Beazley, who in Parliament on Thursday repeated her statement that the shire needed to treat its ratepayers with respect and not as a “cash cow” to get out of trouble. During her grievance, Ms Kent pointed out this was not the first time the shire had demonstrated mismanagement and poor governance. In 2008 the council was suspended after allegations of dysfunction, mismanagement and poor governance, with a commissioner stepping in to manage the shire until fresh elections took place. In 2020 the shire again faced scrutiny over its financial management and a comprehensive inquiry was launched by the Department of Local Government. “Although the audit found no evidence of suspicious financial activity or breaches of the Local Government Act, the shire’s financial health was a concern,” she said. “The report highlighted a significant adverse finding in the shire’s financial position, with the operating surplus ratio falling below industry benchmarks for three consecutive years. “While the 2020 inquiry did not uncover misconduct, it unsettled many in the community yet again, and the ongoing trust in the shire, which has been a cause for concern for many people.” Ms Beazley said there needed to be accountability and consequences where ongoing mismanagement was flagged. “This cannot be a carousel ride where local governments get to continue to go round and display the same poor judgment with no accountability or consequences,” she said. She said most local governments in WA did “excellent work” but she had a message for those who did not. “Do not test my patience,” she said. “My expectation, and that of the community, is that all councils are focused on delivering important local services and acting in ways that are productive, respectful and reflect positively on their community. “It is also important that the conduct of our local councils does not undermine confidence in the wider sector.” She said recently introduced local government reforms would deliver greater oversight powers to deal with dysfunction within local governments early through the establishment of the Office of the Local Government Inspector. “The Office of the Local Government Inspector, with its new regulatory tools, will be able to intervene at a much earlier stage to address and resolve issues at local governments before they escalate, and hopefully avoid such situations that the Shire of Coolgardie are now experiencing,” she said. Ms Kent said in Parliament that since becoming the member in 2021 she had been “inundated” with concerns from community and industry groups regarding the shire. “So many of my constituents have met with me upset and concerned about the future of the shire when it’s faced with this ongoing uncertainty,” she said. “My overwhelming concern is for the community members that make the shire their home and the businesses and industry that work alongside them, they have been through enough. “The community deserve better, staff — current and previous staff — deserve better, businesses deserve better, mining and prospectors deserve better.” Ms Kent also raised how the community’s concerns were dismissed by the shire in 2023 when a motion of no confidence was raised at the annual electors meeting. “The meeting became contentious for the shire president, dismissing the motion as invalid and physically removing a ratepayer’s presentation from the council chamber,” she said. “This event was widely reported and seen by many as symbolic of the council’s dismissive attitude towards ratepayers’ concerns. “This incident reflected the ongoing tensions between the council and community members, particularly concerning financial management and transparency. “Back in 2023, we know the residents and ratepayers posed these questions: how such a large discrepancy went unnoticed during the budget planning process? Whether the money was being appropriately managed or wasted? Why rate increases and service reductions were proposed despite high mining revenues?” Ms Kent said those questions remained unanswered and “largely dismissed” by the elected members, the then-chief executive James Trail and the current acting CEO Aaron Cook. “We know that back in 2023 there was public concern of the shire over its financial management,” she said. “Community members were coming to me — they were extremely troubled by the indicators that were showing the Shire of Coolgardie faced significant financial challenges, leading to a substantial budget deficit. “The warning signs were there for all to see. Why didn’t the shire act on them then? Why did it ignore the deficit picture that was staring them in the face?”