Local Government director-general Lanie Chopping steps in amid City of Nedlands dysfunction

The State Government’s highest-serving local government employee is spearheading an investigation into the City of Nedlands over potential breaches of the Local Government Act. The development marks a significant escalation in the ongoing scrutiny of the City of Nedlands. Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley, who has been vocal about keeping an eye on the under-fire authority and its council in recent weeks, told PerthNow she had passed on to director-general Lanie Chopping her concerns about a number of governance matters, including multiple public meetings being missed or cut short due to a lack of quorum. “As a result, the director-general has reviewed the situation and has commenced an investigation into potential non-compliance with the Local Government Act 1995,” Ms Beazley said on Tuesday. “I will await advice from the director-general prior to determining what further action may be taken. “Make no mistake, I am watching the City of Nedlands very closely”. It comes after another shambolic end to a meeting earlier this month where mayor Fiona Argyle and Cr Hengameh Amiry clashed over the city’s landscaping plan for Allen Park. The end result was that the city will hire a consultant to create a landscaping plan for the area and list $500,000 in its upcoming budget to fund the project. The move was unanimously supported by the council — despite the State Government wanting to excise the land so that the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation can do and fund a more expensive park makeover in step with its nearby children’s hospice development. “I’d like to just point out that we do not have the budget for this . . . we have not had the rate rises to support this level of consultants and contractors for this piece of work,” Cr Amiry said during the meeting. However, the councillor, who was overseas and participating online, was cut short of continuing her case after three times being called to order for casting an “adverse reflection on council”. But Cr Amiry continued anyway, asking the mayor if she was going to mute her microphone “like last time”, to which Ms Argyle replied: “Yes I am”, followed by querying the exact whereabouts of the overseas councillor. “It’s not your business . . . you know exactly where I am because it was part of my application to attend online which you approved,” Cr Amiry replied. Ms Argyle responded, telling Cr Amiry that she was “screaming like a mad woman”. Moments before closing the meeting off to the public, Ms Argyle apologised to the audience for the behaviour. Her apology attempt returned heat to the situation, with Cr Amiry refuting that she had screamed and suggesting audio settings in the chamber must be too loud. Ms Argyle retorted by referencing Cr Amiry’s current five months of approved leave — something the mayor said she had voted against authorising. “It is a global international norm to work for your money. How much leave did you take last year, how much leave?” Ms Argyle asked, to which Ms Amiry replied “none”. According to the council’s meeting records, Cr Amiry did not take any leave from February 2023 to December 2024. She was absent from only two meetings during that period. But Ms Argyle asked and accused again anyway: “How much leave did you take Cr Amiry last year? How many months, was it five months, was it five months last year?” Cr Amiry reiterated that said she had not taken leave in either of the past two years before she abruptly chose to leave the meeting — resulting in the council losing quorum to handle their confidential items. The City of Nedlands was contacted for comment.