Toodyay Herald

The front of the Pacific National locomotive cabin was crushed by the impact which upended the rear wagon of the grain train and spilled tonnes of grain and other wreckage onto the track.

Emergency crews worked day and night over the Christmas break to clear the line.

AvonLink and Prospector rail passengers were transferred to road coaches on Christmas Eve.

No AvonLink or Prospector services were scheduled to run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and the line was reopened on December 27.

The crash is being investigated by the Canberra-based Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which operates a WA regional office at Perth Airport.

The bureau reported that both trains were substantially damaged.

The 61-year-old deceased man from Perth was employed by Pacific National, an Australian freight train operator based in Sydney.

He had previously worked as a police officer, youth worker and train driver in New Zealand, and was a leading member of the Mormon Church in Perth.

The grain train was operated by US transport company Watco, which lists WA grain handler CBH as its biggest Australian customer.

The line operator is Arc Infrastructure (formerly Brookfield Rail), which manages 5500km of rail in WA’s South-West and is owned by global Canadian company Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

Federal investigators will examine the rolling stock and track infrastructure layout, interview workers and staff, analyse train computer records and inspect relevant documents.

The safety bureau said it expected to take more than six months to complete its investigation and release a final report.

“Should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify those affected and seek safety action to address the issue,” the bureau said.

About 500 hundred mourners attended the deceased driver’s funeral in Greenmount last month.

Mr Scott wrote a six-page report to last month’s council meeting urging councillors to reject President Manning’s proposal.

He said private industry supported a “clear separation of powers” between elected members and employed staff.

He quoted from a regional industry group submission that “it is imperative that there is a clear understanding by all of their responsibilities and boundaries”.

The WA Local Government Association (WALGA), which represents councils, and Local Government Professionals WA, which represents staff and of which Mr Scott is listed as Avon Branch Deputy President, supported this view too, he said.

However, both lobby groups failed last year to change local government law when the State Government withdrew its contested amendment to abolish council control over ‘Senior Employees’.

Big salaries

The roles of Corporate Services Manager Chileya Luangala, Planning and Development Manager Kobus Nieuwoudt, Works and Services Manager Scott Patterson and Community Development Manager Audrey Bell fall into that category.

None of them were previously designated in Toodyay as “Senior Employees”.
The shire’s latest annual report shows that each of the shire’s four senior managers earn $100,000-$130,000 a year, and Mr Scott gets $180,000-$190,000 a year.

Mr Scott said the overwhelming view of key industry bodies and the State Government was that the “Senior Employees” clause was an anachronism and should be removed.

He said it was still “likely to be removed” in future legislative amendments and recommended “that council NOT designate any employees as Senior Employees”.

‘Delving into administration’

Mr Scott’s recommendation was moved by Cr Brian Rayner and seconded by Cr Therese Chitty.

Cr Rayner said the current system had worked successfully for many years – changing it would result in the council “delving into administration”.

President Manning (left) said employing senior staff involved “important, critical decisions and I believe the council should have some say in those appointments and decisions”.

“It was put to Parliament to remove those provisions but didn’t get through despite being government policy,” he said.

Mr Scott’s recommendation to keep his power to hire and fire senior staff without council approval was lost 5-3 (Cr Ben Bell on leave), with only Crs Rayner, Paula Greenway and

Phil Hart backing Mr Scott.

Cr Greenway requested that the councillors’ names and votes be recorded in the minutes.

A second motion to designate the top four shire management roles as “Senior Employees” was moved by Cr Beth Ruthven and seconded by Deputy President Rosemary Madacsi.

‘Friction’

Deputy President Madacsi said that if there was “friction or an issue thing when a person is dismissed” the council had a responsibility to become involved.

Cr Greenway said she disagreed.

Mr Scott said the change “amounts to a power of veto”.

His view was rejected 5-3 with President Manning, Deputy President Madacsi, and Crs Chitty, Ruthven and Hart voting in favour on the motion, and Crs Rayner, Greenway and Sue Pearce against.

Cr Greenway again asked that their names be recorded.

See Editorial

“The operating surplus ratio and asset sustainability ratio has been below the DLGSCI (State Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries) standard for the past three years.”

The statement appears to contradict the auditor’s cover letter which says: “We noted no matters we wish to draw to your attention.”

To add to the confusion, the shire’s three-year Corporate Business Plan shows target ratios as percentages, but its financial statements report them as decimal figures.

Discrepances not noted

The discrepancies were not noted in Shire CEO Stan Scott’s recommendation to adopt the audit report, which was carried 8-0 at last month’s council meeting.

However, the council voted 8-0 to refer a management report containing the warning to the audit committee “for consideration”.

The shire’s three-year corporate business plan says an operating surplus ratio is a financial indicator of the “extent to which revenues raised cover operational expenses only or are available for capital funding purposes”.

The desired trend/target is “10 per cent or greater” but the shire’s latest financial statements show it as “(0.12)” – brackets in financial statements usually mean a deficit.
The figure for 2018 was (0.21), and it was (0.24) in 2017 and (0.47) in 2016.

The shire’s corporate business plan also says that the desired trend/target for its asset sustainability ratio is “90 per cent or greater” but financial statements show 0.58 in 2018, 0.74 in 2017 and 0.67 in 2016.

No reference in report

CEO Stan Scott made no reference to the audit warning in his introduction to the shire’s new 130-page annual report.

However, President Bill Manning raised it in his accompanying foreword.

“The operating surplus ratio measures the local government’s ability to cover its operational costs and have revenues available for capital funding and other purposes,” President Manning said.

“The asset sustainability ratio indicates whether a local government is replacing or renewing non-financial assets at the same rate that its overall asset stock is wearing out.

“The issue will need to be taken into account when reviewing the long-term financial plan in 2020 and when setting future budgets.”

The auditor’s warning was published at the end of the shire annual report after 50 pages of figures and complex accounting details.

Previous annual reports appear to show that the shire failed to meet operating surplus ratio targets for the past seven years.

‘Beautiful audit’ – CEO

“We had a beautiful audit with nothing in it,” Mr Scott told last month’s council meeting.
President Manning said that if it contained nothing, then Moore Stephens should be asked for permission to publicly release a concluding memorandum, which Mr Scott said was marked ‘confidential’.

A motion for its release was carried 8-0.

Councillors also voted 8-0 for a motion by new Audit Committee Chair Beth Ruthven, seconded by Deputy President Rosemary Madacsi, to refer the audit management report – including the warning – to the committee for further consideration.

The annual report will be open to public questions at an annual meeting of electors in the council chamber in Fiennes Street at 7pm on Tuesday February 18.

It drew a scathing rebuke in State Parliament from local Nationals WA MP Shane Love (right) who said he was “shocked and dismayed” at the way Mr Wroth was treated.

He told the Legislative Assembly that unlike others in paid employment, Mr Wroth had “no clearly defined rights”.

“He has no recourse, and after decades of service offered freely, he, his family and fellow volunteers have been dealt a gut-wrenching blow,” Mr Love told MPs.

“Spare a thought during the coming holiday season for those St John Ambulance volunteers who may not be enjoying a festive time with their loved ones because their mobile phone has rung and they have been called away.

“They deserve respect, they deserve representation, they deserve better treatment than Charlie Wroth has had.”

Mr Love later said he had been contacted by ambulance volunteers throughout his electorate – which stretches from Toodyay to Kalbarri – “who are as angry as the Toodyay folk about what has happened”.

“St John need to understand that there is a view among many vollies across a number of districts that they are not valued and respected by St John,” Mr Love said.

St John’s Country Ambulance General Manager Justin Fonte declined to answer repeated Herald questions asking why Mr Wroth was sacked.

“The changes we are making will be a positive step forward and the community should have confidence that they will continue to receive the highest level of service from St John,” Mr Fonte said in a written statement issued from Perth.

A St John’s media and public relations consultant said there would be no further comment due to “privacy considerations”.

It is understood Mr Wroth was sacked for criticising the organisation’s emergency response policies at a private forum organised in July by Nationals WA Leader Mia Davis.

Mr Wroth told the 13-member closed forum that Toodyay ambulance volunteers were frustrated that their local paramedic is not allowed to attend ambulance call-outs.

Similarly, St John’s only local staff member who is also a trained ambulance officer is not allowed to help make up the required numbers for a two-person ambulance crew if needed for emergency call-outs.

As a result, spare local ambulances can’t be used during office hours if only one volunteer is available.

Local volunteers were also frustrated at being called to transfer non-urgent patients to hospital at 3am, and at other times being stood down after responding to call-outs.

It prompted a complaint by Northam St John administrators to Perth head office and an internal investigation by Country Ambulance Service Operations Manager Simon Hughes and Employee Relations Advisor Ken Tan that resulted in nine adverse findings against Mr Wroth.

St John Ambulance Operations Director Deon Brink wrote a hand-delivered letter to Mr Wroth saying he had made “inappropriate comments’ at the July 3 forum, “represented St John management in a negative manner”, made “disparaging remarks and publicly undermined the community paramedic role”, “placed the reputation of St John at risk” and offended Northam staff.

The adverse findings included that Mr Wroth told a Northam St John staff member at the forum who had previously served as a volunteer that they had “gone over to the dark side” and that “you can’t say much with management in the room”.

Mr Brink said Mr Wroth had “failed to adhere to the (St John) code of conduct”, and appeared to “lack awareness regarding appropriate and professional behaviour when representing the organisation at an external forum”, raising “serious concerns regarding your judgment and ability”.

Mr Love said he was one of three Nationals WA MPs present at the private forum in Northam and none of them heard Mr Wroth say anything that anyone could regard as derogatory or offensive.

“Charlie raised the same things that we have heard from ambulance volunteers right across the state, from Albany to Karratha.

“It’s the same story everywhere.

“St John needs to re-examine the way they speak to volunteers and issue a public apology to Charlie because what they did was beyond the pale.”

Mr Love said a Nationals WA staff member had denied repeated requests to provide notes from the party’s Northam forum to a St John employee.

“The notes were provided only after a call from St John’s Wheatbelt regional manager with an assurance that they would be used only to improve internal processes of St John,” Mr Love said.

“There was nothing in the notes that anyone could regard as offensive.

“The staff member who provided those notes now feels terrible about it and blames themself for what happened to Charlie.”

Toodyay Chief Bush Fire Control Officer Craig Stewart also attended the July forum and said he did not hear Mr Wroth say anything derogatory or offensive about the St John Ambulance service.

“The idea was to talk freely in an informal closed session about important issues, which we all did,” Mr Stewart said.

“Nobody said anything that could have provoked anyone.

“If anyone took offence, it was very narrow thinking.

“I was surprised there was an investigation – into what?

“It looks like someone put a target on Charlie’s back and was gunning for him.”

Donations flowed in and many fundraisers were organised.

Invaluable help was provided by two women who came over from Flowerdale and Murrindindi in Victoria.

They had been involved with the recovery process following the horrendous Black Saturday fires that took place in February 2009.

They came as a gesture of thanks because of the assistance given by Toodyay volunteer firefighters and they knew what had worked with their survivors.

The regular survivors’ dinners held in the Memorial Hall was an initiative that was much appreciated.

With Lotterywest funding, a project was undertaken by one of our members to collect examples of media coverage, print and television footage, photographs, oral histories, official reports and documents.

An accompanying project report reflects upon the lessons that were learnt and how the ‘one-stop-shop’ support system that evolved could be a blueprint for other communities affected by bushfire.

It wasn’t long before there were other fires; Roleystone-Kelmscott (February 2011), Margaret River (November 2011), Parkerville, Stoneville and Mt Helena (January 2014), and Yarloop (January 2016).

Copies of the collected materials are lodged with our society and the shire’s museum, and the project report can be read on our website.

Given the amount of available material about the bushfire, our society gave much thought about how to mark this significant event in Toodyay’s history, or if indeed we wanted to.

Ten years may seem a long time ago, but with media coverage of catastrophic bushfires raging across the eastern states, we feel there is no respite.

So, the decision was made not to look back to 2009, but rather the present.

We urge everyone to be prepared, heed advice, and give heartfelt thanks to our volunteer firefighters and all the others we rely on to make Toodyay a safe place to live.

To conclude on a festive note, we all enjoyed our end-of-year sundowner at Donegan’s Cottage and look forward to decorating the front room of Drummond House (next to the bank) for the Christmas Street Party on Friday December 6 from 6 to 9.30pm.

Members are invited to come along to enjoy the fun and help with selling our Christmas hamper raffle tickets.

We thank The Toodyay Herald for publishing our monthly columns and wish all the staff a happy and well-deserved rest over the festive season.

Contacts: secretary.2j.ths@gmail.com; Robyn Taylor, rdtaylor@iinet.net.au, phone 9574 2578, or Beth Frayne, toobide4@iinet.net.au, phone 9574 5971. Donegan’s Cottage Research Centre in the showgrounds is open on Thursdays from 1-3pm. Postal address: PO Box 32 Toodyay. Website: toodyayhistoricalsociety.org.au/. Books and displays at Drummond House, which is open on Saturdays 10am to noon.

Mr Graham is a former State MP who served 16 years in State Parliament as the member for the Pilbara before retiring from State politics in 2005.

He was Labor’s opposition regional spokesman for the Pilbara and Shadow Minister for Regional Development, North West, and Works and Services.

Mr Graham resigned from Labor in 2000 to retain his seat as an independent in the 2001 State elections and was also a member of the powerful Public Accounts and Expenditure Review Committee, Joint Standing Committee on the Commission on Government and Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Community Development and Justice.

He was back in familiar territory when he told an Upper House Select Committee on Local Government that there was a natural convergence of interests across the Avon Valley, from Beverley to Bullsbrook.

“There are are similar industries, similar town structures and similar organisations,” Mr Graham said.

“You could save the equivalent of the rates of Toodyay by getting rid of five CEOs.

“You set up a corporate structure that allows things to work effectively and efficiently, and inside six months nobody would care what its name is.

“That’s the experience out of Victoria and the experience out of Queensland (where large-scale local government reforms have occurred).”

However, the previous Barnett Liberal State Government had got politically “beaten up” when it tried to talk about altering WA local government boundaries.

Mr Graham said he had travelled from Derby to Esperance to prepare his Select Committee submission.

He prefaced his public submission – one of 171 presented to the committee – with a passage from US author Joseph Heller’s best-selling 1961 anti-war novel Catch-22:

“Under Colonel Korn’s rule, the only people permitted to ask questions were those who never did. Soon the only people attending were those who never asked questions, and the sessions were discontinued altogether, since Clevinger, the corporal and Colonel Korn agreed that it is neither possible nor necessary to educate people who never questioned anything.”

Mr Graham told Select Committee MPs said that “when you get behind closed doors, there’s nobody seriously arguing that current WA local government electoral boundaries are the right boundaries”.

‘Lunacy’

“If the current local boundaries didn’t exist and you walked into any party room and put it up on the wall and said ‘I think we need this for a system of local government’ how many do you think in your party room would adopt it?

“It’s just lunacy.

“It doesn’t matter how many councils there are in WA as long as they are based on a community of interest and are financially viable.

“East Pilbara is the biggest and Peppermint Grove the smallest – if folks in Peppermint Grove want a tiny little council and are happy to pay for it, who cares?

“My view is they shouldn’t get the minimum Federal grant because they’ve made a choice that they can survive, and we should use that minimum grant money to go to other councils that actually need it, like country councils that are in diabolical trouble.”

Mr Graham said he knew of one WA council that spent about $10 million a year, raised about $5 million a year in rates and spent abut $5 million a year administering that $5 million a year.

‘Absurd’

“That’s how absurd it is,” Mr Graham said.

“We have other councils that are drowning in money and it’s an embarrassment for them that they can’t spend it.

“They have to think up reasons to spend the money yet within a council or two of them (geographically) is a council bereft of funds.

“This is due to the boundaries.

“The big picture is that the boundaries are structurally unsound and, as a consequence of that, most councils are structurally unsound – it’s just silly.”

The Select Committee has received 171 public written submissions and is now conducting hearings, including in country areas, before it reports to the Parliament.

The decision was moved by Shire Deputy President Rosemary Madacsi, seconded by Cr Brian Rayner and supported by Shire President Bill Manning and Crs Paula Greenway, Sue Pearce and Phil Hart.

New tenders opposed

Cr Therese Chitty, who with Crs Beth Ruthven and Ben Bell opposed the decision, asked that their names be recorded.

It is understood that at least one of the three opponents opposed the extra cost of up to $8000 to re-advertise tenders when five recruitment firms had already applied after the former council’s aborted March decision not to renew Mr Scott’s contract, and two more had applied since then.

Councillors agreed not to automatically hire the WA Local Government Association’s recruitment service – which recommended Mr Scott’s appointment seven years ago – because some said they opposed employing an organisation that “recycled” shire CEOs.

Some councillors said the recruitment process should start afresh to avoid any perception that the former council’s selection process might be seen to be flawed.

The long debate ended at 9.20pm with one veteran councillor calling for a vote because they were tired and wanted to go home after more than five hours in the chamber.

Cr Bell withdrew his earlier bid for the council to appoint Perth firm LO-GO Appointments when there was no seconder.

York move, inquiry

Mr Scott’s 12-month contract for his $243,000 a year job ends next July 22.

He has bought a house in York and commutes between there and his West Toodyay property to do his job.

The council is still awaiting the outcome of a year-long State Government ‘authorised inquiry’ into the former council and Mr Scott’s administration of the shire over the past seven years.

The inquiry was ordered by WA Local Government Minister David Templeman 12 months ago after a year of departmental monitoring and includes an investigation of the shire’s operations, affairs and culture.

A report to the Minister and any recommendations for further action are not expected until after Christmas.

It culminated this year in heated disputes over repeated rate rises and a secret council backflip to reverse a decision not to offer Shire CEO Stan Scott a new contract and award him a 2.5 per cent pay rise instead.

Crs Manning and Bell opposed both decisions but were outvoted 6-2 by the former council in May and July.

Toodyay’s new council now faces the impending outcome of a year-long State Government inquiry into the shire administration and former council’s operations, actions and culture over the past six years.

A report and recommendations are expected to go to WA Local Government Minister David Templeman by the end of next month to decide if further action is required.

Three former councillors who served for four years during the investigation period – Judy Dow, Eric Twine and Rob Welburn – did not re-contest their seats when their terms expired last month.

Election results

The four new and two re-elected councillors in order of votes received were:

Benjamin Bell (re-elected) 1126
Rosemary Madacsi 920
Susan Pearce 893
Phil Hart 869
Beth Ruthven 834
Bill Manning (re-elected) 832

President Manning was elected for two years to resume his previous four-year term after resigning on principle to contest last month’s election, and the others until 2023.

The unsuccessful candidates were:

Bruce Guthrie 730
Bruce Campbell 449
Brian Chambers 394

Toodyay’s 45 per cent voter turn-out for last month’s postal ballot of 3425 electors conducted by the WA Electoral Commission was well above the state average of 28.5 per cent for WA’s 139 councils.

It was the first time all Toodyay voters were allowed to vote for all candidates after the council decided last January to abolish shire electoral ward boundaries.

Three other councillors – former shire president Brian Rayner (who nobody voted for in 2017 because he was former North Ward’s only nominee), former deputy president Therese Chitty (East Ward) and Cr Paula Greenway (West Ward) – have two more years left to serve.

Madacsi new deputy president

A secret ballot to elect a shire president at the first meeting of the new council last month resulted in a 4-4 deadlock between Cr Madacsi and former deputy president Chitty (Cr Greenway absent on council-approved leave) after former president Rayner said he would not re-nominate for the shire’s top job.

It is understood that President Manning and Crs Ruthven and Pearce voted for Cr Madacsi, and Crs Rayner, Bell and Hart voted for Cr Chitty.

The special council meeting was adjourned for a week.

Crs Chitty and Madacsi withdrew their nominations at the resumed meeting to enable Cr Manning to be elected unopposed as new shire president.

A second secret ballot for deputy president resulted in the election of Cr Madacsi (five votes), followed by Cr Chitty (two) and Cr Bell (one).

It is understood President Manning and Crs Ruthven, Pearce and Hart voted for Cr Madacsi, Cr Rayner voted for Cr Chitty, and no other councillors voted for Cr Bell.

President Manning (right, taking oath of office) thanked Cr Rayner (facing him) at last month’s council meeting for his two years’ service as shire president.

At the new council’s first ordinary meeting next day, President Manning said he was pleased “to have the opportunity to work with all of you as representatives of the community”.

“You all bring to the council table your intelligence, your experience, your skills and, most of all, your enthusiasm to make Toodyay a better place in which to live,” he said.

“The broad range of skills and experience includes areas such as agriculture, fire control, tourism, environmental science, education, accounting, business, information technology and law.

“The community expects us to work together as a united team and I am confident we can do that.

“There will be differences of opinion, of course, but these need to be handled in a polite and respectful manner, and the majority decision needs to be accepted.

“At the end of the day, our collective responsibility is to represent the interests of the community as a whole.

“When we are considering matters before us, the question we always need to ask ourselves is ‘what is in the best interests of the community?’”