Interim Administrator Greg Chemello chaired his final Ipswich City Council meeting this week, commenting on the city’s troubled past, his role in the revival to date and a positive future.
Mr Chemello, who is stepping down in mid January 2020 to commence as CEO of Moreton Bay Regional Council, noted that his last council meeting completed the reforms and decisions on his two key areas of attention; ensuring appropriate mayor/councillor governance and integrity and delivering the Ipswich CBD redevelopment.
He thanked the Queensland Parliament for its unanimous vote in August 2018 to enable the State Government to dismiss the former Ipswich City Council.
“Having been here for 16 months, I believe it was definitely the right decision, progressively learning what I now know about the organisation and the way the council was run,” he said.
He also thanked the Queensland Government, and the Minister for Local Government specifically, for placing trust and faith in him to undertake the role of council’s Interim Administrator. Mr Chemello said it had been a “privilege and an honour” to be in that position.
“Thanks also to the Ipswich communities. I know it has been a difficult journey for many, but I have endeavoured at all times to live up to the legal obligation placed on me; to act in the best long term interests of the residents and ratepayers of this city.”
He thanked the Interim Management Committee which, with the help of CEO David Farmer and council staff, achieved substantial reform since August 2018.
Tuesday’s council meeting endorsed the last few policy pieces to complete the local governance framework.
“In terms of mayor and councillor governance and integrity reform, there is nothing more that I could possibly do” he said.
“It is now up to the incoming set of elected representatives to live up to the principles and requirements of those documents, live those values and put those policies in operation after the March 2020 elections.
“I do have supreme confidence in the ability for the council to deliver on the reformed frameworks and policies we have put in place, to continue and grow and to put this short period of history behind us and move on.
“I’m also very confident in the community’s ability to move forward. Our job was to get this council back on its feet, so elected representatives have a decent and effective platform to bring democracy back to the city. Proudly, I think we have done that and I think we have achieved our job.”
Members of the IMC also had an opportunity to speak at their final council meeting.
Robert Jones said governance, culture and transformational change were the key aspects coming in, including dealing with many significant “complaints and grievances”.
“It is a great opportunity for the Ipswich City Council to now make the most of these last 16 months and really build into an organisation that is at leading practice … be an exemplar to other councils,” he said.
Simone Webbe said council staff should be celebrated and congratulated for working hard on transformation “in the pursuit of good governance”.
“I’d also encourage the stewardship of all officers at council wherever they may be for the public accountability of the public funds, the public powers that you hold on public trust for the benefit of the residents and ratepayers of Ipswich,” she said.
Jan Taylor said she took up the Ipswich challenge with a “certain degree of trepidation”.
“But I think what has really uplifted me through this process … the pleasure I have had in meeting and dealing with community people has been fantastic. They have a degree of acceptance of everyone and everything. I think that the council as representing this community has a wonderful job ahead of it. I wish all those future unnamed councillors the best of luck,” she said.
Stan Gallo said the changes introduced in the past 16 months had taken Ipswich from a place behind to a place in front.
“We pushed pretty hard to achieve what we did in the transformational projects and to achieve that change in culture that we all collectively sought. We asked (people) to trust us in bringing forward those issues, those complaints, all that dirty laundry, that we were willing to listen … and the community who did embrace the termination of council, it was a bold move and quite a significant one in Queensland’s history,” he said.
Steve Greenwood, who will take over from Mr Chemello as Interim Administrator from 13 January until the 28 March elections, said it took the first 30 minutes speaking to council staff for the “impact to really hit me, realise this was a very serious challenge for us all”.
“Everything we have done we have had to invent, it’s all new, there is no guide book, no one to follow. Every decision, process, program that we have been part of has been new, and that is very difficult but also very rewarding too. It has been hard, but going forward … the real load is going to be borne by senior executive, who have been through massive change, massive stress before that … I do recognise where the weight is being carried in this organisation,” he said.
Mr Chemello’s final day in charge will be 10 January, 2020. He is currently finalising a report to the Ipswich communities that will summarise the work done over the past 16 months, for intended public release on his last day.
Mr Greenwood will then oversee the continued work until the March election. This includes a “caretaker” period from mid February onwards where council cannot make any major policy decisions under state law.
Read More
>>>Last piece of the councillor integrity package
Now is the time for the rightful mayor Andrew Antoniolli to come back.