Mayoral car statement – Cr Arkwright

17 June, 2014

In response to a query from the Southern Highland News on 12 June 2014, Mayor Juliet Arkwright has issued the following statement: 

Last night’s amendment was an exercise in petty vindictiveness that any half way honourable councillor would have been ashamed to support

There has been no serious breach on my part – in particular the ratepayers have not unwittingly supported one scintilla of my private use of the mayoral vehicle.  In March of this year I voluntarily paid $4,366.20 to Council for the privilege and a further $362.52 on 19 May.

The car, a Holden CalaisV is the same or of similar standard to mayoral vehicles throughout NSW.  It is on the approved state government policy list.

The inferences made by certain Councillors last night were designed to humiliate me and traduce my reputation and any attempt to pontificate that they acted for the good of the community by Councillors Turland, Scandrett, Campbell, Gair and McLaughlin is pure hypocritical cant.

By wasting valuable time in the pursuit of this vendetta, Council’s business was, yet again, not completed.  Despite it being an Extraordinary Meeting for the very purpose of dealing with the backlog.

I am sure that the Office of Local Government will find this inability to do the serious business of the day for the community a matter of particular concern.

Councillor Juliet Arkwright
Mayor of Wingecarribee Shire Council

 

For further comment, please contact the Mayor directly: click here for councillor contact details.

To view the minutes of the Council meeting being discussed in this statement: click here (item nm-NM2 on page 20).