FORMER federal assistant treasurer George Gear says he will strip back the delegated power of Melville council’s executive if he wins October’s race to be mayor.
Mr Gear is the first to officially throw his hat into the ring for the council elections and will launch his campaign next Sunday August 4 at the Melville Bowling Club.
He told the Herald this week that removing the delegations would help swing the balance of power at the council back towards elected councillors and the community.
“You can see where the public servants have been given delegated power, but their decisions have been misplaced – an example is Deep Water Point – and that’s where that rebalance is needed,” Mr Gear said.
The Deep Water Point fiasco this month saw the city impose parking fees at the popular picnic site in an attempt to head off conflict between boaties and patrons of the hugely-popular Dome.
But it was a PR disaster with ratepayers roasting the council. Even though the admin put the plan on hold, mayor Russell Aubrey also put forward a motion to nip it in the bud.
Mr Gear said while delegations helped speed up council’s processes, he believes better decision-making is a decent trade-off.
A figurehead during the recent debate over a wave park in Alfred Cove, Mr Gear doesn’t want the nearby Melville Bowling Club to move.
“But I’m not a one-man band, I’d have to test that view with the other councillors,” he said.
“The important thing to remember is that it’s more than a bowls club, it’s a major community centre.”
Mr Gear said it could be a potential home for a raft of community groups.
“There are groups of people who form associations and I would like to give them as much help as I can, and one way is to give them accommodation – somewhere to meet.”
He says despite his often strident defence of the club, which included the threat to replace the council’s executive, he’d feel comfortable working with all stakeholders.
Mr Gear said he’d also push to have a moratorium on any future developments in the Canning Bridge precinct, as he’s got sympathy for locals who are unhappy with the heights that are being proposed.
“There’s been a public process with height limits of 10 or 15 storeys which have been agreed, but when you have one of 30 storeys being proposed, you have to say we have a problem,” Mr Gear said.
by STEVE GRANT