1. What happens once the Minister releases the Dorset Board of Inquiry Report?
This announcement ceased the appointment of the Commissioner, with the elected council reinstated as at 12.01am, 23 January 2025.
2. With Councillors being reinstated, have their roles or duties been changed or impacted in any way due to the Board of Inquiry?
No. The role of Dorset Councillors will be exactly the same as any other Tasmanian council, with the exception that Council will provide progress updates to the Minister for Local Government in relation to the Board of Inquiry directives.
3. How are councillor resignations filled?
The Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC) has commenced the process to fill the casual vacancies left by the resignations of former Deputy Mayor Dale Jessup and former Councillor Jerrod Nichols.
The casual vacancies to fill the resignation of Dale Jessup and Jerrod Nichols will be announced next Tuesday, 11 February.
The resignation of Anna Coxen, Beth Donoghue and Leonie Stein will result in a separate countback process, commencing Wednesday, 12 February and may take 7-10 days (similar to the first countback), if the interested unsuccessful candidates from the 2022 Local Government Elections are not exhausted. If they are exhausted, unfilled Councillor positions would be included in a By-Election process. e.g. with the current resignation of 5 positions excluding the Mayor, if only 4 unsuccessful candidates express interest in the recount process, the last position would be elected by Dorset electors as part of a By-Election.
The By-Election for the Mayor role and Councillor (Greg Howard resignation) will not commence until the completion of the second countback process (potentially the end of February) with a 6-8 week timeframe.
For more information and the latest updates, visit the TEC website below:
4. Who speaks on behalf of Council if the Mayoral position is vacant?
Until a Mayor or Acting Mayor position is formalised, the General Manager is the contact point for external stakeholders.
5. Did the Commissioner and Councillors receive an allowance during the Board of Inquiry?
- The Commissioner was entitled to remuneration and allowances for the durations of his appointment, as specified in the instrument of appointment issued by the Governor of Tasmania, Hon. Barbara Baker AC, being $265,000 per annum pro rata (excl. GST). The Commissioner was also entitled to the reimbursement of reasonable expenses (e.g. training, conferences, travel requirements, etc.), as approved and certified to the Council by the Director of Local Government. The Local Government Act 1993 , Section 233 states that the Council is to pay the above remuneration and allowances to the Commissioner.
- Pursuant to Section 340A of the Local Government Act 1993, Councillors - while suspended by the Minister for Local Government - were not entitled to any allowance during the period of suspension - being 2 August 2023 to 22 January 2025.