r CABINET MINUTE DECISION NO.

BRISBANE, 1J I ~/19 "ii

______(Submission No. __6_l~_

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GOVERNOR 21 Decision File

2 MR. AHERN 22 ...... ,. 3 MR. GUNN 23 ·-·-· .. .,, .r,... -- -&.&...- ! - - -~- 4 MR. GIBBS 24 . MR. GLASSON . ' - 5 25 =T <~-- . . 6 MR. AUSTIN 26

7 MR. LESTER

8 MR. TENN!

9 MR. HARPER 29

10 MR. MUNTZ 30

11 MR. MCKECHNIE 31

12 MR. KATTER 32

13 MR. NEAL 33 MR. CLAUSON 14 34

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16 MR. RANDELL 36 MR. COOPER 17 37

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C 0 N F I D E N T I A L

C A B I N E 1' M I N U T E

Brisbane, 13th June, 1989

Decision No. 56876

Submission No. 51246 TITLE : Future of Torres Shire Council.

CABINET decided : -

1. That the approval of the Governor in Council be sought to extending the term of appointment of Mr. N.A. Garnpe as Administrator of the Torres Shire Council to the 31st October, 1989 . 2. That the Honourable the Minister for Local Government and Racing bring a further Submission to Cabinet as soon as is practicable on the future of Torres Shire having regard to the issues raised in paragraph 17 of the Submission .

CIRCULATION: Department of Local Government and copy to Minister. ~remier ' s Department and copy to Premier and Treasurer. Treasury Department and copy to Minister. Department of Mines and copy to Minister. Department of Community Services and Ethnic Affairs and copy to Minister . All other Ministers for perusal and return.

Certified ~1ae Copy SECURITY CLASSIFICATION •c• - CONFIDENTIAL tJ SUBMISSION NO.

COPY NO. FOR CABINET FUTURE OF TORRES SHIRE COUNCIL

1. The Town Council (predecessor of the Torres Shire Council) was dissolved in 1952 because of its deteriorating financial position and its inability to operate in a normal capacity.

2. Since that time, the Town of Thursday Island and now the have been continually under the control of Administrators appointed by the Governor in Council pursuant to Section 4(9) of the Local Government Act.

3. In more recent times, the Administrator has been assisted by an Executive Committee comprised of local residents who represent particular parts of the Shire. The Executive Committee is appointed by the Minister for Local Government and Racing and the practice has been to select the members by gauging the support for various contenders for the positions at public meetings called for that purpose.

4. By Decision No. 40055 of the 19th April, 1983, Cabinet decided, in part, that the approval of the Governor in Council be sought to extending the terms of appointment of Mr. Norman Arthur Gampe as the Administrator of the Torres Shire Council and the Cook Shire Council from the 1st July, 1984 to the 30th June, 1989 on similar terms and conditions to those which attach to his current appointment.

5. Cabinet also decided by Decision No. 51487 of the 26th May, 1987 that the term of appointment of Mr. Gampe as a Crown employee be extended beyond his 65th birthday to the 30th June, 1989 to enable him to control and perform the tasks set out in that Submission.

6. The relevant tasks to be performed by Mr. Gampe were to:-

(a) Act as Administrator of the Torres Shire Council to the 30th June, 1989;

(b) Act as Administrator of the Cook Shire Council until the conclusion of the Local Authority elections to be held in March. 1988. (It had been previously decided by Cabinet that elected local government should be restored to Cook Shire at those elections); and

(c) Maintain a watching brief over the newly elected Cook Shire Council to the 30th June, 1989 by attending Council meetings and reporting on those meetings to the Director of Local Government. - 2 -

7. On the 9th September, 1988, Mr. Gampe resigned as a Crown employee with the Local Government Department and entered into a contract for part time employment to continue to act as Administrator of the Torres Shire Council. It was considered that the watching brief over the Cook Shire Council was no longer necessary and the time needed to devote to the task of Administrator of the Torres Shire Council did not warrant a continuation of full time employment.

8. The term of Mr. Gampe's contract for part time employment expires on the 30th June, 1989 with the proviso that it may be extended and that any extension is at the discretion of the Minister for Local Government and Racing. Obviously, any such extension would first have to be approved by the Governor in Council under Section 4(9) of the Local Government Act.

9. In the last week of May, I visited the Shires of Etheridge, Croydon, Carpentaria, Burke, Mornington, Aurukun and Torres. I was extremely well received and all Councils and the local people were most appreciative of a visit by a State Minister and of being given the opportunity to talk about their concerns and problems.

10. As a result of the visit to Torres Shire, two issues need to be addressed:-

(a) Mr. Gampe has indicated that he wishes to stand down as Administrator of the Shire though he is prepared to work on for a few more months (i.e. past the end of his current term of employment on the 30th June, 1989) whilst a decision is made by the Government as to his replacement or otherwise; and (b) The members of the Executive Committee for the Torres Shire Council advised that there is a growing public debate on the possible return of elected local government to Torres Shire and they are finding it increasingly difficult to respond in a detailed and logical fashion as to whether such a step is desirable.

With respect to this second matter, I advised the Executive Committee that I would have to be absolutely certain they could manage their own affairs (Economically or otherwise) before I would recommend a return to elected local government.

I also indicated that I was prepared to have my officers prepare a report on the future financial position of the Shire if the Administrator was withdrawn along with all current grants, position in relation to loans and any other matter that a normal shire in has to contend with. - 3 - 11. In the past, the decision by the Government not to restore elected local government has been centred on the Council's very narrow rating base and the need for it to rely on grants and other forms of external assistance to operate. Such a situation calls for very close and expert monitoring and the capacity to make unpopular decisions if the Council's changing financial circumstances warrant it.

12. In addition, there is the continuing problem of attracting and retaining competent staff which means that the Administrator has to keep a very close eye on staff performance and at times he even has to supervise and carry out their duties.

13. On face value, it does not seem that the situation will change dramatically in Torres Shire in the foreseeable future. The Council's continued financial viability is a fragile thing and there is little room for error in budget planning and control.

14. If elected local government were restored to Torres Shire, there would be a real concern that the Council might stray off the narrow path of continuing financial health and that the State Government may have to intervene to provide further assistance. It may even be necessary to dissolve the newly elected Council and again appoint an Administrator to run the Shire.

15. In addition to these long standing concerns, there are other more recent issues which need to be borne in mind:-

(a) There is a major problem regarding the water supply for both Thursday Island and Horn Island and the Council is considering a policy of not connecting any new premises on Thursday Island to the current system. The costs of upgrading the water supply system has been estimated to be in the order of $23m with a dam on Prince of Wales Island and pipelines on the seabed to supply the other two Islands:

(b) The future action to be taken concerning the self management of Tamwoy and Rosehill Islander Reserves on Thursday Island to which the Council now renders local government services.

16. Nevertheless, I can well appreciate the emotions involved in this desire on the part of some people for the restoration of elected local government for Torres Shire. On that basis, the debate will not die down.

17. To pursue this matter further, two issues need to be explored:-

(a) The increased costs that the residents of Torres Shire would have to meet if an elected Council replaced the Administrator i.e. the financial viability of the Council if this step was taken: - 4 -

(b) The probability of any elected Council dealing with the current and potential problems facing Torres Shire and the options that might be open for the Government to guide a freshly elected Council.

18. One of the last major tasks for Mr. Gampe will be to prepare a budget for the Torres Shire Council for the 1989/90 financial year. In liaison with the Local Government Department, it is also proposed that he would prepare a "mock" budget for the same period showing those extra costs that the Council would incur if elected local government was hypothetically restored to Torres Shire on the 1st July, 1989.

19. Once that "mock" budget has been prepared and fully analysed, I will bring a further Submission to Cabinet exploring in more detail the future of the Torres Shire Council. That further Submission would also examine the issue outlined in paragraph 17(b).

20. However, these budgetary preparations are going to take a couple of months and in the meantime Mr. Gampe's term of appointment as Administrator will have expired on the 30th June, 1989. On that basis, I consider that Mr. Gampe should be reappointed as Administrator for a further term.

21. It should also be appreciated that even if it was decided to restore elected local government to Torres Shire, Mr. Gampe would still have to be replaced by another Administrator. Mr. Gampe wishes to resign after the Government makes a decision on the future of Torres Shire and he is unlikely to want to stay on for those extra months to organise the takeover of the Shire and to hold elections for a fresh Council. An interim Administrator would have to carry out these tasks.

22. The question at the moment is to settle on the length of Mr. Gampe's further term as Administrator.

23. On the one hand, Mr. Gampe could have his term of appointment extended until the 31st December, 1989, with the clear understanding by the Government that he would retire well before then. Alternatively, the term could be extended for only a couple of months e.g. until the 31st August, 1989.

24. The advantage with the first approach is that if it takes more than a couple of months to explore the issues raised in paragraph 17 and for Cabinet to make a final decision, it would not be necessary to go back to the Governor in Council and seek the further reappointment of Mr. Gampe or some other person to act as Administrator. The disadvantage of this approach is that it could be argued that the Government has locked itself into a continuation of the direct administration of Torres Shire and is not interested in restor ing elected local government. - 5 -

25. On balance, I favour the middle ground and suggest that Mr. Gampe's term of appointment as Administrator of Torres Shire be extended to the 31st October, 1989. The expectation is that before then the Government would have decided whether or not elected local government should be restored to Torres Shire and if so, the timing of any elections.

26. As pointed out above, I would envisage Mr. Gampe retiring as soon as that decision is made and for him to be replaced by another Administrator. The term of appointment of that other Administrator would be governed by the decision as to whether or not to restore elected local government.

27. BECOMM:ENPATIQN It is recommended that:-

(a) The approval of the Governor in Council be sought to extending the term of appointment of Mr. N.A. Gampe as Administrator of the Torres Shire Council to the 31st October, 1989;

(b) I bring a further Submission to Cabinet as soon as is practicable on the future of Torres Shire having regard to the issues raised in paragraph 17 of this Submission.

Jim Randell Minister for Local Government and Racing

Local Government Department, BRISBANE. 8.6.89