Fresh controversy has erupted after the lodging of the Sunbury out of Hume community consultation report with Local Government Minister Tim Bull.
The Broadmeadows Progress Association has raised concerns about conclusions and recommendations presented by chairwoman Amanda Millar, saying they are not supported by the report’s statistics.
Mrs Millar issued a media release last week claiming considerable support had been shown for the appointment of commissioners or another independent body to “protect assets and to equitably manage” the Sunbury out of Hume process.
When challenged, Mrs Millar said: “35 per cent [26 out of 75] of respondents who provided a response on this issue called for the appointment of commissioners, administrators, or another independent body to oversee the transition.
“This was the most common response to the question re: how to transition – and the committee was of the view that 35 per cent, while not a clear majority, demonstrated ‘considerable’ support in this context.”
The push for administrators was laid aside earlier this year when the former local government minister Jeannette Powell reassured Hume councillors they would continue to represent their constituents until the next local elections in 2016.
However, new minister Tim Bull refused to back his former colleague when asked if it was his intention to appoint non-elected administrators to supervise the new Sunbury entity or to take over Hume as a whole and oversee the separation of Sunbury.
“It would not be appropriate to pre-empt what transition arrangements the panel may recommend,” Mr Bull said.
It is not the first time the government has claimed majority support for Sunbury’s secession, Broadmeadows Progress Association spokeswoman Sonja Rutherford said.
“Really, to draw such conclusions one would have to question the authenticity of the [consultation] questions and the interpretation of the results,” Mrs Rutherford said.
She also called into question the validity of the original poll asking Hume voters for a yes/no answer about the proposal that Sunbury secede from Hume.
The consultative committee’s report will be considered by three-person, government-appointed panel assigned with dividing assets and recommending new boundaries and structure for a separate Sunbury shire.
The panel’s final report to the Minister is due by June 30.
Mrs Millar’s report is available at the Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure department’s website: www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/localgovernment/projects-and-programs
