Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Warrnambool has spoken and oh boy, it is being heard.

Like you, I went to bed last night in one Warrnambool and woke up to another one.

In what is an unprecedented election result, we saw one candidate, Vicki Jellie, finish with an astronomical 6526 first preference votes: almost one third of the total counted.

We saw a Sudanese man, a former refugee who has made Warrnambool his home, Otha Akoch, elected with 2771 first preference votes.

We saw a record number of women elected in Vicki, Angie Paspaliaris and Debbie Arnott.

And we saw a record turnout of 86 per cent of voters who, between them, voted in seven new faces for seven vacancies.

I doubt there has been any 2020 council election result across Victoria like this one, where not one sitting councillor was re-elected.

Warrnambool has done it: it has found its voice and turned the page on what has been more than a decade of division within the council and councillors, a toxic culture that enabled entitlement, and a growing disconnect from the community.

For all of the good work done by our elected councillors these past four years, so much had gone wrong.

The community, quite simply, had had enough.

It had had enough of being cut out of the conversation, of being told lies and fed spin, of being treated like a cash cow, of being left wondering why another year would pass and the same problems were still not solved, while fresh problems lined up behind them.

This time around, Warrnambool has really thought about its vote and taken a risk on not the same names – backed by the same power brokers –  but a completely fresh start.

It is scary, but my word, Warrnambool is ready to take the chance, because we are exhausted from the battle of just trying to keep on top of the latest scandal which was not of our making.

No more.

There are fears that a new council would not support the environment in the same way as the old one.

I am not sure how this computes when you had a 6/1 majority of the past councillors vote to destroy Levy’s Beach by handing it over to Darren Weir and his racehorse training.

And has done nothing to lobby Wannon Water on its sewerage plant upgrade.

And ignored the disgraceful environmental damage by hoons at Levy’s Beach.

And took years longer than our neighbouring councils to introduce a green waste bin and then applauded itself for being ground breaking.

It is a patchy track record, at best, and one that can only improve and must.

With this election, ethics and integrity are making a comeback and they are making a comeback not just in words, but in actions.

But it is not about passing the burden of change to a new council, walking away and watching on comfortably from the sidelines.

We need to stay involved, and take the energy from this election and turn it into a driving force for the next four years.

This is the message from this election and it is the message behind the enormous vote for Vicki Jellie.

Because 6526 votes was far more than a vote for Vicki the person: it was a statement of what our community can achieve when we all work together.

We want that feeling back.

Vicki’s work with Peter’s Project started from a place of personal grief and grew into a movement that saw Warrnambool achieve what many thought would be impossible: a first-class cancer treatment centre, run by Epworth Hospital, in a regional city miles from Melbourne.

Warrnambool wants more of this.

It wants THAT relationship with its councillors and council – the one where we unite, with empathy, respect, honesty and determination, to do the best for our city.

If we work in this way, we can get things done: we can improve the harbour, we can recreate Flagstaff Hill, we can care for our stunning environment, we can find ways to keep rates down under the cap, we can help traders get back on their feet from Covid-19, we can resolve the endless argument about CBD parking, we can get a grip on the 2040 plan, and, through it all, we can bring integrity back to the council process.

This is our chance for true change – Warrnambool has voted for it – and it starts today.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

I have been crunching the numbers from the VEC on the clean sweep at the Warrnambool City Council today and here is how the full 24 candidates landed in order after preferences.

A candidate needed to reach 2677 to win.

1. Vicki Jellie.
2. Otha Akoch.
3. Angie Paspaliaris
4. Debbie Arnott
5. Ben Blain
6. Max Taylor
7. Richard Ziegeler
—-
8. Peter Sycopoulis (2403 – 337 votes short of a spot)
9. Lynn Hudson (1791)
10. Michael Neoh (1535)
11. Jim Burke (1320)
12. Tracey Togni (1140)
13. Matt Walsh (970)
14. Bruce Campbell (887)
15. Sue Cassidy (808)
16. Kylie Gaston (636)
17. Michael McCluskey (542)
18. David Owen (492)
19. Thomas Campbell (378)
20. Steve Moore (369)
21. Anthony Earnshaw (336)
22. Cassandra Prigg (263)
23. Andrew Squires (185)
24. Jacinta Anderson (182)

I will be back later this afternoon with a piece once I digest this unprecedented result.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

A warning. If you were around in the 80s, you are about to suffer a serious ear worm because we are now entering THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

After what seems like weeks for a methodical count, we will know by mid-morning who has been elected to the new Warrnambool City Council.

No matter what happens tomorrow, we have already witnessed history. Warrnambool has never seen an election quite like this one.

Never have we seen a single candidate – in Vicki Jellie – attract more than 6000 first preference votes.

Most candidates are thrilled to get 1500 and brand new candidates who have never run before are rapt to get 1000.

Almost one in three people who voted in this election put Vicki at number one. Unbelievable.

Candidates need around 2700* votes to win one of the seven spots, but Vicki – according to the local paper – has more than double that amount.

Otha Akoch is also in a comfortable position and he will also take a seat at the table without having to rely on preferences.

So we have TWO candidates who have both won seats without needing to worry about preferences. This, from my delving back into the history books, has not happened in Warrnambool in a very, very, very long time.

On top of this, it looks like none of the four councillors elected in 2016 will be re-elected. Only one – Michael Neoh – has a slim chance of making it across the line. He is sitting around eighth, but will need a truck load of preferences.

Such a rout is unprecedented.

The last time that sort of clean out happened, if at all, was when horses were tied to hitching posts down Liebig St.

Vicki will win. Otha will win. Based on the numbers so far, Angie Paspaliaris will win. Ben Blain will most likely win, but – from there – who will take the final three spots?\

Honestly, I have no idea.

Those rounding out the top 10 at the moment – although a long way behind the top four – are Peter Sycopoulis, Richard Ziegeler, Lynn Hudson, Jim Burke, Mike Neoh and Max Taylor, with Debbie Arnott sitting a little further back at 11. Only a couple of hundred votes separates sixth spot from 10th spot.

It now all comes down to preferences and, in particular, Vicki Jellie’s preferences.

If we take away the 2700 or so votes Vicki needed to win, she has another 3000 or so votes that will now be distributed as preferences thanks to a handy little VEC computer program that will work this all out tomorrow with the press of a button.

If someone voted for Vicki first, who they put second now matters – a lot.

If people followed Vicki’s how to vote card, Debbie Arnott and Richard Ziegler will shoot across the line. If they didn’t follow Vicki’s card, well who knows what might happen?

One thing to keep in mind is that preference votes don’t get counted as one full vote.

In other words, if 400 of Vicki’s preferences go to Richard, he won’t see his count go up by 400, but by a percentage which is far too complicated to explain here.

The bottom line, however, is that there are a hell of a lot of preference votes now swashing around in this big democratic washing machine and we shall have to wait until tomorrow to see where they land.

See you then.

* 2700 is the ‘quota’ which is worked out by taking all the votes cast, removing all of the invalid ones, and dividing that total by the number of vacant seats (7) plus one (so, 8). Simple, huh?

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

As the count goes on to decide who will sit alongside frontrunner Vicki Jellie on the new Warrnambool City Council, we must remember that there is important, unfinished business from the last go round.

The first is whether the WCC has referred a crime to the police – the abuse and misuse of a council corporate credit card.

It is now almost four weeks since the Ombudsman recommended it consider doing so: we still don’t know if it has.

The latest statement from Acting CEO Vikki King is “at this stage there is no update in relation to the referral of the credit card findings to the Warrnambool Police”.

A former senior council manager lied and covered up his spending on a council credit card and yet, four weeks on from this confirmation, the council is apparently no further forward on pursuing any criminal charges.

For a council that allegedly couldn’t wait to throw a CEO out the door for pressing pause on a fishing pontoon, this is disturbing.

And for our local paper to argue that the stolen money was “paid back”…if only such justice was served to the poor bastards thrown into court for pinching a packet of chops.

Just as disturbing is the second item of unfinished business: the leaking of highly sensitive, highly personal documents from within council to at least two councillors, in the mail.

Three sworn affidavits from Tony Herbert, Sue Cassidy and Kylie Gaston all revealed that psychometric test results for those who applied for the position of CEO were leaked.

Senior council staff have known about this leak since at least April this year, when Robert Anderson asked for an investigation.

Has it been investigated? Did it turn the joint upside down? Did it run a full IT audit to see who had access to these highly personal documents? (I would guess, not many people.)

Has it contacted the Inspectorate or the anti-corruption body IBAC?

We don’t know, because the Acting CEO – as of today – has declined to comment.

“It would be inappropriate to comment on matters currently before the Supreme Court,” is the statement.

But this leak is not being challenged in the Supreme Court. It happened. And nothing, it seems, has been done to track down the person/s responsible.

As it happens, IBAC just today issued a newsletter on this very topic of misuse of private and personal information held by councils.

IBAC warns that such misuse “may constitute corrupt conduct”.

There is that c word again.

I am as invigorated as you are by the wave of change that is poised to roll through our council and the above just underscores – yet again – why such a change can’t come soon enough.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Former Warrnambool City Council CEO Peter Schneider failed to perform in his job almost from day one, according to sworn evidence by former councillor Kylie Gaston.

Ms Gaston submitted a 10-page affidavit to the Supreme Court late Monday, setting out her defence as to why she was one of four councillors who voted to sack Mr Schneider on 13 July – 18 months after he replaced CEO Bruce Anson.

(The affidavit was released by the Supreme Court today, after the Melbourne Cup holiday).

Ms Gaston was the last of the four councillors to lodge an affidavit, but the evidence reiterates and reflects many of the justifications made by former councillors David Owen, Sue Cassidy and Michael Neoh, which have already been reported here. Acting CEO Vikki King was the fifth affidavit.

In particular, Ms Gaston refers to Mr Schneider intervening with the now infamous Queens Rd fishing pontoon that was built opposite the then-home of former Cr Peter Hulin, and the results of the council staff survey that showed poor staff morale and concerns of bullying.

Ms Gaston claims councillors also raised concerns with Mr Schneider “multiple times” about key staff not being replaced, governance issues and about staff well-being, but “he did not respond to many of our requests”.

Ms Gaston also raises fresh allegations, including that former CEO was under performing virtually from day one and, a month after he started, both she and the former Mayor were checking the fine print of his contract.

“In March 2019…I had a meeting with the Mayor for a general catch up. I asked him how Mr Schneider was going and he told me he was worried that Mr Schneider might be out of his depth.

“Together, we decided to check if Mr Schneider had a probationary clause in his employment contract, as the Mayor did not recall.

“We did not find a probationary clause and just left it at that, figuring that Mr Schneider would start to improve with time”.

But, according to Ms Gaston’s evidence, the CEO did not improve and in early February 2020 – 12 months after he began – she asked for a copy of his employment contract, which Mr Schneider provided.

All councillors (except Cr Hulin, who had by then resigned) then attended a meeting with Mr Schneider on 21 February to raise their concerns.

“During Mr Schneider’s time as the CEO, he was never proactive in requesting feedback, whether from the councillors at meetings, or with me personally. He did not seek feedback even after the meeting on 21 February,” the statement says.

Ms Gaston also alleges Mr Schneider held up progress on the new joint WCC/TAFE library project by several months, by failing to follow up and confirm philanthropic funding.

This was later done by TAFE CEO Mark Fidge.

Ms Gaston also reveals that she received a leaked copy of Mr Schneider’s psychometric test in the mail, which she showed Mr Herbert.

“When the Mayor saw the results of the psychometric tests, he put his head in his hands and said words to the effect of “Oh God, now this all makes sense,” the statement says.

Ms Gaston then goes on to say that Community Services Manager Vikki King was appointed Acting CEO after Mr Schneider’s sacking because she had already proven herself in the Acting CEO position (Ms King was acting CEO between Mr Anson and Mr Schneider).

Ms King was also the only one of the four directors available, as Scott Cavanagh had resigned, and Peter Utri and Andrew Paton were “conflicted” by the Ombudsman’s investigation, the statement says.

Ms Gaston denied allegations by Mr Schneider and Mr Herbert that she had a close relationship with Ms King and had not socialised with any council staff outside of council events.

The civil case launched by Mr Schneider arguing a lack of natural justice is due to go before the Supreme Court on 1 February.

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