The Blame Game: Mayor Slams Union, Councillor Over Fearmongering on Job Cuts
Shoalhaven Mayor Patricia White has released a scathing public statement denying claims that more than 100 Council staff jobs could be axed and accusing Councillor Jemma Tribe of relentlessly coveting her job.
Mayor White's extraordinary statement was a response to Friday's United Services Union (USU) media release expressing outrage that "around 110 jobs could go in the stunning plan for mass sackings".
by Cat Holloway /
Battle lines drawn
On Tuesday June 10, Council triggered fresh confusion in its already nervous workforce when it voted to commit to reducing employee numbers over the coming two financial years.
The target agreed on was to lower Council's staff costs from 32% to 20% above the average spend for comparable Group 5 councils.
Cr. Jemma Tribe was one of five councillors who voted against setting a staff reduction target, raising concerns about the practical and personal impact.
Crs. Matthew Norris, Ben Krikstolaitis, Gillian Boyd and Natalee Johnston joined Tribe in opposing the plan.
Notes published prior to the meeting read that Council's CEO "reiterated serious concern" about the "metrics".
But it was Tribe who was reprimanded during the meeting debate for saying that the target could put 110 to 200 staff at risk of losing their jobs.
"To stand here now and impose a cut would be highly problematic when we need to do the work from the bottom up," Cr. Tribe said.
Tribe's statements may have been an attempt to clarify the jargon in the Financial Review Panel report referring to "employee costs per capita". Meeting discussion might have explained the obtuse recommendations were it not tagged confidential.
Eight councillors supported this motion, ignoring the acting CEO's "serious concern with adopting additional metrics which deviate or add" to those of the Office of Local Government (OLG) and the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee (ARIC).
"Unfortunately, I don't think any of us are going to be able to answer the number or what that means at this point, " Mr Ruprai said.
Deputy Mayor Peter Wilkins said the change was "rather modest" and "conservative."
"I think the description of large-scale job cuts is inflammatory and quite contrary to what the finance committee is proposing here," Wilkins said.
On Friday June 13, USU Industrial Officer, Stuart Geddes, said staff were "blindsided" and that up to one in five employees could be impacted by Council's decision to "slash employee costs - moments before giving themselves the maximum allowable pay rise."
"The mayor has been telling Shoalhaven council staff their positions are safe, and now she moves to sack them, it's just unbelievable," Mr Geddes said.
"Our members are already under strain due to lack of resourcing and understaffing."
Mr Geddes said some USU members were distraught, one even telling him she and her two children would have to live in her car if she lost her job.
"The cost of living crisis is biting and now they're being told one in five are on the chopping block."
Mayor White's written announcement and radio interviews said that the union claims were "alarming", "old news" and "ridiculous".
She then took aim at Cr Jemma Tribe, asserting that Tribe had spoken falsely about plans for staff cuts ever since this council was elected in September 2024 because she was hell bent on her "agenda" to hold the top Council job.
"In my opinion Clr Tribe has a vested interest in wanting to become mayor," reads White's press release.
"Many people have commented to me that Clr Tribe following her mayoral lost (sic) at the 2024 election said, 'It was my god given right to be the Mayor and I won’t stop'.
"She has attacked me on travel allowances, trying to stop myself and Councillors from representing ratepayers (as council business) and much serious matters.
"I believe she will not stop with this agenda over the next three years."
Cr. Tribe responded minimally to the media release which was written on Mayoral letterhead and distributed as requested by Council's communications staff.
"It is disappointing that staff time and resources have been used to spread misinformation," Cr. Tribe said.
"In my personal opinion, it demonstrates a lack of judgement."
Fighting fear or stifling opposition?
Acrimonious exchanges between Mayor White and Cr. Tribe during Shoalhaven Council meetings are a regular spectacle, with White frequently demanding Tribe retract her statements and "unreservedly apologise" while other Shoalhaven Independent Group (SIG) councillors often interrupt Tribe with a "point of order" during debate.
Respectful disagreement should be a constructive part of council democracy. But it is uncomfortable (and time consuming) to watch Cr Tribe routinely berated for daring to disagree with the SIG majority.
(Don't take my word for it, council meetings are available on the SCC website for you to witness the dynamic yourself.)
Amendments and suggestions from Cr Tribe and the councillors seated at the Mayor's left are usually received with open disdain by the seven loyal SIG councillors to her right who enjoy a predictable majority vote on almost every motion.
Cr Selena Clancy is no longer a SIG party member, but her allegiance to Mayor White and SIG is clear and her rift with Team Tribe Independents is well known.
So, it is curious that this particular disagreement has prompted such a formal public attack from the Mayor who said it was "time for truth" and "a look behind the scenes"
That's a great idea.
Let's take a trip down memory lane to rediscover some facts about who actually stirs up anxiety over job cuts.
Baying for blood
Criticism of council staffing levels are not new, but that criticism came from SIG councillors and their supporters.
The topic blew up during the summer of 2023/24 when Mayor Amanda Findley, on advice about Council's dangerously compounding long-term debt, suggested a 44% rate increase spread over three years.
That proved a bridge too far. Even the slightly more modest 39% three-year option was voted down after an effective grassroots community campaign saw council reject any rate rise beyond the standard "peg" for inflation.
Then-councillor Patricia White complained vociferously and campaigned vigorously on the position that Shoalhaven Council was a "bloated" bureaucracy in dire need of streamlining.
With fellow SIG Cr. John Wells, White's 16-point plan to dig council out of a financial ditch was tabled during the lead-up to the January 2024 rate rise debate.
Bob Proudfoot (now a SIG councillor), shamelessly promoting his electability and arguing for the 39% rate rise, referred to the need for an "organisational restructure" and complained that staffing was among the powers taken from Mayors and handed to council CEOs.
Proudfoot listed as one of several financial sustainability problems "continued employment of additional personnel with all those costs rolling through as well."
Cr. Denise Kemp was back then a devoted SIG activist leading an aggressive no-rate-rise campaign that included calls to cut staff alongside a petition to dump Mayor Findley.
One of the Kemp camp's many disruptive protesters in that January council meeting wore an Australian flag as a cape and carried a sign saying "Stop the Rot. Sack the Lot." But it was unclear whether that sentiment applied to elected councillors or staff.
When Cr. Evan Christen warned that, without a rate rise, Council job cuts would be inevitable. Kemp's SIG-faithful crowd cheered loudly and Mayor Findley tried to quiet the crowd saying they were "baying for the blood of council staff".
Findley predicted that Council would be forced in 2025 to raise rates or place themselves in the crosshairs of administration.
She was right. But that harsh truth was a major factor in the Greens losing their seats in every ward at the 2024 council election, thus handing a comfortable majority to SIG with the party's new leader, Patricia White, becoming Mayor.
They didn't shoot the Deputy
Throughout that 2024 local government election campaign, Patricia White spoke publicly often about the need to reduce staff numbers in Shoalhaven Council, prudently claiming it could be achieved through a freeze on new hires and not replacing staff who leave.
But after winning the election resoundingly, Mayor White and her SIG colleagues immediately confronted the new CEO Robyn Stevens over what they deemed an inadequate restructuring plan.
SIG Deputy Mayor Peter Wilkins stated openly that a factor in CEO Stevens' departure was her unwillingness to take "drastic" measures and that Stevens' restructure "did not go far enough".
A retired sports commentator, Wilkins said council mismanagement was "diabolical" and that "the numbers of council employees have exploded in recent years" which had created "a budget black hole".
By November, SIG supporters such as Jacqui Burke on Cr. Denise Kemp's (aka Denise Joy) "shoalhaven city council residents complaints" Facebook group amplified their party's position to "get rid of" the CEO and "cull" Council staff with the 500 number frequently bandied about and attributed to the Office of Local Government.
Neither Mayor Patricia White, nor Cr. Kemp (or any other SIG councillor) made any attempt to correct those calls to cut 500 jobs and the number was reported here and in Eye on Shoalhaven Council (Facebook), ABC Illawarra and ultimately in State Parliament by South Coast member, Liza Butler.
So, six months on, is it political genius or desperation that Mayor White is blaming the Union and Cr. Tribe for fearmongering as they attempt to quantify or reject Council staff cuts.
Councillor Tribe has indeed played the role of an opposition leader in Shoalhaven Council, standing often as the main voice for cost saving, community concerns, staff recommendations, improved planning instruments, affordable housing and protecting natural environments.
Did Cr Tribe intend to put herself perpetually at odds with Council's SIG majority or was she was forced there by SIG's poor track record on community consultation and an unrestrained developer-friendly agenda?
It's hard to imagine that a fortnightly brow-beating was Tribe's motivation to become a councillor. Luckily, other councillors are growing more confident in their efforts to balance both the culture and the books at Shoalhaven City Council.
If Mayor White had genuine fears about Cr Tribe or anyone else staging a council coup, she would have been smart to avoid giving her opponents ammunition by making potentially defamatory accusations.
Regardless of what the Office of Local Government think about the Mayor's use of the media to air grievances about her colleagues, it's a style of leadership unlikely to win public sympathy.
People, not percentages
All this political duelling matters most to workers in Shoalhaven Council who remain uncertain about who gets to stay, who will get fired and when it will all happen.
Inside sources say the organisation has become a stressful workplace where staff are reticent to speak up lest they make themselves more likely to be removed.
Since the new council took office in September, a disturbing brain drain of executive staff from Shoalhaven City Council (SCC) left several holes.
After CEO Robyn Stevens' acrimonious and expensive resignation last November, five other Shoalhaven City Council directors have vacated their positions.
Only James Ruprai remained from the previous executive team. Ruprai's position was cut in Robyn Stevens' original restructure proposal. But,Mayor White appointed Ruprai acting CEO and he has applied for the top job.
Some lament that plugging staffing leaks is pointless as the ship sinks towards administration. Others welcome clearing the decks to embark on a journey to financial sustainability
One thing is certain, staff turnover is much higher in the public service than elsewhere—a whopping 18% turnover exists across the local councils in Australia compared to the national labour turnover rate of 8% (Australian Bureau of Statistics, February 2024).
That could help Mayor White in her hope to achieve a smaller council workforce mainly through natural attrition.
Stuart Geddes of the USU said "the Mayor's maths is not working" and welcomed her stated offer of a meeting to address anxiousness and clarify how many jobs will go and when.
“The Mayor has been talking about percentages thus far ... but people aren’t percentages, they are human beings and they deserve to know if they are being shown the door,” Geddes said.
“We need to know how many jobs the Mayor wishes to cut and from what departments.
"Will they be the people who conduct rhyme time at the libraries, will they be the road workers who fix potholes in the district or will they be the people who mark the fields for Saturday sport?
“We’re still dealing with the fallout from the Mayor’s decision to privatise local child care services leaving children and parents facing lesser services and higher costs and six council staff at Centrelink.”
