Caboolture Shire Council cancels $52,000 farewell party ...
Excerpt from Courier Mail:
Caboolture Shire Council cancels $52,000 farewell party
20 February 2008
A Queensland council has dumped its plan to spend $52,000 on a farewell party ahead of its demise at next month's local government elections.
Caboolture Shire Council was planning throw a bash for 900 staff - spending $1600 on clowns and magicians alone - at the Caboolture Showgrounds on March 12, three days before the poll.
The party was supposed to mourn the end of the 128-year-old council, which will merge with Pine Rivers Shire and Redcliffe under the state government's sweeping council reforms.
However Caboolture mayor Joy Leishman today pulled the pin on the party following negative media coverage.
...
See - Council cancels party.
Makes the Toowoomba City Council look respectable.
Then again, no need to book clowns, there's enough rattling the halls already ...
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 5:30 AM
2 Comments:
Courier Mail:
Queensland councils splash out on merger parties
February 20, 2008
COUNCILS across Queensland will spend half a million dollars on functions to farewell their shires before amalgamation.
Among the biggest will be a function hosted by Townsville City Council, which will include a concert starring Lee Kernaghan and a budget of $150,000.
Its "twin city" Thuringowa, with which it will merge next month, will hold an event one day before Townsville, with a budget of $80,000.
Thuringowa City Council plans to hold a parade, plant a time capsule and have a concert with Kate Miller-Heidke performing live.
Spokespeople for both cities have said they plan to raise corporate sponsorship to cover most of the cost of the events.
The news comes after Caboolture Shire Council cancelled a proposed $52,000 staff function following media attention and criticism from Local Government Minister Warren Pitt, who suggested it was "excessive".
Set to feature clowns and balloons, the $40,000 function was to be paid for by funds normally allocated to local newsletters and included $12,000 in gifts given to staff at Christmas.
Mayor Joy Leishman said it was "hardly a party" but an event to commemorate 128 years of local government.
"This was just a spit roast and three drinks. Every other council in Queensland is having these events. It is just being used as a political football three weeks out from the election," she said.
Mr Pitt yesterday called on Maroochy Shire to cancel its staff event, which is set to cost up to $60,000.
Other city councils across Queensland planning community farewell events include Caloundra, which has put aside $50,000, and the Noosa and Calliope shire councils, which will budget $40,000 each.
Esk Shire Council sponsored a $36,000 Australia Day event with country musician Travis Sinclair on the banks of Lake Wivenhoe and set aside $10,000 for a time capsule.
Local Government Association of Queensland executive director Greg Hallam said there was a sense of loss in the communities and a need to mark the occasion.
"Local government spends $6.6 billion annually in Queensland. This is not some giant party, they are celebrations that are appropriate to the local circumstances," he said.
He said despite guaranteed job security there was "a lot of angst" and job fears in councils with 12 per cent vacancy rates.
Mr Pitt yesterday said community events to mark the historic occasion were appropriate but parties would not increase staff morale.
"I don't think throwing someone a party is going to change their long-term job security or morale," he said.
11:06 AM, February 21, 2008
Hi there.
I see you’re writing about the queensland local council elections - just wondering if you’d like to get involved over at our site qlddecides.com
It’s an initiative run by On Line Opinion, QUT and the Local Government Association of Queensland. We’re running a citizen journalism service to cover every council election in the state.
It would be great to have you on board - we could either cross-post your stuff or you could send stuff directly to me via email. Either way, we’re hoping for a diverse range of stuff on these elections, and we expect the site to get a fair bit of attention.
All the best
Jason
11:48 AM, February 26, 2008
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