Wollongong’s council meeting took an explosive turn on Monday night, with a lengthy debate over the state’s Shellharbour/Wollongong merger proposal degenerating into a shouting match between the two cities’ mayors.
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Waving a copy of the government’s proposal, an angry Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery seemed ruffled by comments previously made by Shellharbour councillors implying Wollongong was keen to “takeover” their smaller council.
He also suggested the merger had only been mooted after Shellharbour was declared ‘not fit’ under the NSW local government reform benchmarks.
“We have been described in language [that indicates] Shellharbour fears it becomes an irritation on the rear end of Wollongong. Well, I resent that sort of language and rhetoric coming out of those in Shellharbour,” he said.
“I’m sorry Shellharbour, you should have got your act together – Fit For the Future was the document that changed this, Fit For the Future was where it all went wrong and that’s why we’re here tonight. I didn’t want this.”
This incensed Shellharbour mayor Marianne Saliba, who began shouting from the public gallery and was asked to leave before being escorted from the council chambers.
“We’ll all stick together you told me, and you lied, Gordon, you lied,” she shouted.
“We’ll all stick together, you said. What a load of garbage.”
As Wollongong’s civic attendant followed orders and ushered Cr Saliba outside, Cr Bradbery took a parting shot: “That’s the sort of representation that you’re likely to get in Shellharbour.”
In his impassioned speech – the most colourful since amalgamations were put forward in December – Cr Bradbery also noted that Wollongong residents’ “silence has been deafening”.
“Who can remember back to when we had crowds of people banging on our doors on dogs on beaches, we had rallies outside?” he asked councillors.
“Who can remember that experience of Gleniffer Brae and all that nonsense? What about skydive on the beach and the facilities that were going to be built… coal seam gas, Helensburgh LEP and the citizens’ panel – remember that – and the ocean pools?
“I am overwhelmed – or should I say underwhelmed – by the lack of noise coming from our citizens in the city.”
Before the outburst, councillors had spent almost two hours debating the merger proposal, eventually supporting a detailed 15-point motion from David Brown which authorised Cr Bradbery to present the council’s case to a government run public forum on Tuesday afternoon.
Scroll down to hear Gordon Bradbery and Marianne Saliba talk to i98FM on Tuesday morning.
