I WRITE in response to recent letters by Cr Hennessy and by Cr Phillips-Ryder regarding Gawler council’s problematic and hugely wasteful boundary reform folly.
In chronological order for the benefit of all:
• Following the 2018 council elections, Mayor Redman issued a media statement where she declared that the Civic Centre was the centrepiece of her first term and that she wanted boundary reform (BR) to be the centrepiece of her second term;
• NOTE: Mayor Redman did not consult with elected members, did not consult with the Mayors of Barossa and Light councils, did not provide a rationale, did not request that the ToG administration prepare a report, costing or risk assessment, but instead submitted a motion on notice to the May 2019 council meeting to proceed with a boundary reform submission… a motion that just passed with the support of the Team Redman Faction (TRF).
• November 2019 council resolves to initiate Stage 1 of the BR consultation… passed 6/4 with support of the TRF.
• Late 2020, as part of Stage 1, SquareHoles consultants conduct an online BR survey and hold two BR stakeholder community consultations.
• November 2020 SquareHoles consultants submit their summary report on their BR stakeholder meetings and survey and admit, on camera, that they removed from their re- port all stakeholder feedback that opposed BR and did so on instruction from the Inat/Red- man administration.
• December 2020 council resolves to submit the Stage 1 and 2 boundary reform report to the Boundary Commission…passed 6/4 with support of the TRF.
• August 2022 council resolves to proceed to Stage 3 of the BR process so long as the additional cost to do so doesn’t exceed an extra $379,000… passed 5/3 with support of the TRF.
• March 2023 Deputy Mayor Shanks submits a motion on notice requesting that the newly elected council be consulted regarding the $379,000 costing limit for Stage 3 BR… his motion is lost on the casting vote of Mayor Redman.
• July 2023 council resolves not to fund Stage 3 of the BR process and withdraws $379,000 from the budget… carried 5/4 (with the TRF not having the numbers following the 2022 elections).
In conclusion, Mayor Redman’s hugely expensive and divisive boundary reform folly has never had the full support of council, has never been submitted to the Audit and Risk committee for a risk assessment, and has had the $379,000 funding for stage 3 withdrawn.
Ian Tooley, Gawler East
