Tree, what tree?

I understand Shire CEO Tim Clynch has been busy hosing down the issues raised by a former Council employee ..... outlined in previous posts here.

Mr Clynch and the councillors have had a nice little chat about it all behind closed doors and the upshot is that its just a storm in a teacup, everything has been fully investigated and nobody has done anything wrong.

Included in his briefing was a statement that some of my information was wrong. It was not the case that a native tree was felled (without a clearing permit) for timber to build the fancy outdoor recreational facility for staff.

Well, what do we have here?

That's a recently chopped down tree in the depot grounds.

And what's this?

This is what's left of the tree after it had been cut into lengths of timber at the back of the depot with a Lucas Mill belonging to a Shire staff member.

And finally...

There's the timber being used to make the patio.

I've asked the councillors if they think there is anything wrong with any of this and they have simply circled the wagons, claiming they are not allowed to pursue the issues because they are "operational". They have been trained to see their role as nothing more than rubber stamps for decisions made by the senior staff.

The councillors are ignoring  their responsibility to make sure the CEO is doing his job properly.  And if these sorts of things are going on and senior staff including the CEO are simply covering up, that is surely a matter for councillors.

For instance, if the CEO says he has investigated something, but he has never interviewed the complainant, is that a satisfactory investigation???