Minister Considers Suspending Clarence Valley Council

By Tim Howard

Clarence Valley Council’s unanimous call for an independent investigation into its own governance has prompted an unexpected response from the NSW Local Government Minister, who is considering suspending the elected council and appointing an interim administrator.

Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig is considering exercising his powers to suspend Clarence Valley Council and appoint an interim administrator, less than 24 hours after councillors unanimously called for an independent investigation into the council’s governance, administration, operations and financial management.

The development came after Thursday’s extraordinary council meeting, where councillors unanimously supported a motion asking the State Government and the Office of Local Government to consider a comprehensive investigation into council.

During the meeting, Mayor Peter Johnstone warned councillors about asking an outside body to take responsibility for matters that fell within the elected council’s role.

“We’re asking somebody else to do our job here,” he said.

“That’s our job, folks. That’s our job as councillors, and it’s concerning to me that we are effectively abdicating that.”

Less than 24 hours later, Mr Hoenig wrote to council advising that he was considering exercising his powers under section 438I of the Local Government Act to suspend the councillors and appoint an interim administrator.

The Minister specifically identified Thursday’s unanimous resolution as the trigger for his intervention.

“I am considering this action in response to the motion council endorsed on 1 October 2026 titled ‘Item 7.2 – Investigation’,” Mr Hoenig wrote.

He said that, having considered the resolution together with other circumstances and information relevant to council’s current functioning, he reasonably believed appointing an interim administrator “may be necessary to restore the proper and effective functioning of the council”.

Council Has Not Been Suspended

The Minister has not yet suspended Clarence Valley Council.

Councillors have instead been invited to make submissions before he decides whether to take that step. Their responses are due by close of business on October 13.

On Friday night, Cr Johnstone said suspension was not what councillors had intended when they supported the investigation motion.

“The intention of that motion was straightforward: to request investigative support from the Office of Local Government so we can ensure council operations are functioning as they should,” he said.

“The majority of councillors did not intend for it to be interpreted as an abdication of responsibility.”

Investigation Motion Followed Dispute Over Facebook Proposal

The extraordinary development followed a contentious council meeting in which councillors ultimately reached unanimous agreement on the need for an investigation.

Cr Andrew Baker, supported by Cr Karen Toms, had called the extraordinary meeting after Deputy Mayor Cristie Yager posted on Facebook about a proposal seeking an independent investigation into council.

Cr Baker wanted the proposal dealt with urgently.

Cr Yager also supported investigating the issues but objected to Cr Baker’s motion relying on screenshots of what she regarded as a draft proposal without first asking what she intended to do with it.

By Thursday, Cr Yager had formally submitted her Notice of Motion. It appeared as Item 7.2 on the agenda, immediately after the motion councillors had been debating about how to bring the proposal before council.

At one point, Cr Toms argued against delaying the proposal until a later council meeting, before it became clear that Cr Yager’s formal motion was already scheduled for consideration later in Thursday’s agenda.

The procedural dispute was eventually resolved.

Cr Yager then moved her investigation motion, and every councillor voted in favour.

What the Proposed Investigation Would Examine

The resolution asks Mr Hoenig and the Office of Local Government to consider a comprehensive independent investigation covering a wide range of issues.

These include:

• Council governance
• Statutory compliance
• Workplace culture
• Recruitment
• Financial management
• Procurement
• Councillor access to information
• Complaints processes
• Internal audit
• Risk management
• Possible maladministration
• Possible waste
• Potential systemic governance failures

Cr Yager stressed that the motion did not make findings that any of the allegations were true.

She said independent scrutiny could establish the facts and allow council to “clear the air”.

Minister’s Move Comes After Mayoral Election Controversy

The Minister’s intervention comes less than a fortnight after Clarence Valley Council’s mayoral election was thrown into confusion over the procedure used to resolve a tied vote.

Ray Smith’s name was drawn by lot but, rather than being declared elected as required under the relevant regulations, he was eliminated and Peter Johnstone was declared mayor.

Cr Johnstone subsequently resigned as mayor, prompting another extraordinary meeting and another mayoral election. He was then returned to the position.

Against that recent history, Mr Hoenig’s reference to the need to restore the council’s “proper and effective functioning” takes on added significance.

Council to Consider Minister’s Letter

Clarence Valley Council will hold another extraordinary meeting at 4.30pm on Tuesday to consider the Minister’s letter and determine its response.

The meeting will come just days after councillors unanimously called for the State Government to investigate the council.

The sequence of events has put the elected council in the position of responding to a Minister who is now considering whether the councillors should remain in charge while an interim administrator takes over.

For now, no suspension has been imposed. The councillors have until October 13 to make their submissions before the Minister makes a decision.

Captions

Clarence Valley Mayor Peter Johnstone warned councillors that calling for a government inquiry into council was “asking somebody else to do our job here.”

Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig is considering suspending Clarence Valley Council and appointing an interim administrator.