March 30 transcript of questions to Cr Stephen Mayne

Audio of Ivan Reid's provocative questions to Crs Mayne and Ellis

Cr Ivan Reid: a question to councillor Mayne, how does he see, how does he reconcile his membership of the MCA board, and at the same time having a councillor role? Does he see a conflict of interest there? Why is he any different from when he is legally obliged to represent the board that he is on, when he is wearing his board hat, versus when he is a councillor? Would he not be breaking the law, his director duties, if he were a director of the MCA to reveal things that might be detrimental to the MCA, or private and confidential to the MCA, to the council?

Mayor Charles Pick: who are you asking that to, councillor Chuah?

Cr Reid: councillor Mayne.

Cr David Ellis: councillor is pointing.

Cr Reid: then stop. Let him answer!

Mayor Pick: you've been asked a question are you going to respond to it?

Cr Ellis: Mr Goldsworthy might.

Cr Reid: No I've asked it of him, shut up!

Cr Stephen Mayne: I am happy to respond.

Mayor Pick: councillor Reid that is not appropriate.

Cr Reid: well it's not appropriate the way he's behaving.

Mayor Pick: councillor, two wrongs don't make a right. It is not appropriate. Please councillor Mayne you cannot answer a question on behalf of someone else either. I'm sorry. Do you have any further questions?

Cr Reid: I want to know if he is going to answer the question. I want the question asked, answered.

Mayor Pick: Okay, councillor Mayne.

Cr Mayne: I am happy to answer. First to clarify, councillor Reid earlier in the night referred to it as the Manningham Community Association.

Cr Reid: oh whatever.

Cr Mayne: it is actually the Manningham Centre Association. He also referred to the fact that I have been on the board for 12 months.

Cr Reid: I didn't say you've been on the board for 12 months.

Cr Mayne: the phrase was "over the last year". I just want to clarify, to get the facts - the facts are important here. To get the facts, that I think I was appointed to the board in maybe September or October last year. I think I'd probably been on for about 6 months, and I am a council appointee. The council has to appoint 6 representatives to that board. So traditionally there have been councillors on the board. Traditionally former mayor Bill Larkin has been the president of that board. So I don't see it as any different from sitting on the Library board, or sitting on the Doncare board as the mayor does, it is a council appointment. This is very different from a private group doing something. That clarification needs to be made. I've also been extremely bemused that there have been these continuing attacks all year, on our own nursing home, the Manningham Centre Association, and the only reason I joined that board was to try and bring a bit of peace. After what I felt were all these extraordinary attacks on our own nursing home, and I must say that I have been flabbergasted to discover, whilst that was going – undermining our own nursing home - there was this secret process going on around a private nursing home. I found that process to be particularly disturbing, and I joined the board, in part, to try and get a better understanding of what was going on in council's very well run, excellent nursing home over 25 years, that was first opened by Hazel Hawke in 1985. To this day I remain confused why all those who so support this particular other nursing home, are so against council's own nursing home.

Cr Reid: Point of order! We are not against.

Second Question

Cr Ivan Reid: again a question directed at councillor Mayne, if he would cast his mind back to a mediation session where he gave his permission to quote his statements from a certain points onwards, does he recall statements he made indicating a personal nature, of his dislike of the deputy mayor, when he said, and I will provide quotes separately, words to the effect…

Mayor Pick: councillor Reid…

Cr Reid: I'm asking if he recalls…I will summarise it nicely.

Mayor Pick: councillor Reid, councillor Ellis, before it even continues, will you take this question on board?

Cr David Ellis: no it's to councillor Mayne.

Mayor Pick: councillor Mayne will you take this question on board?

Cr Stephen Mayne: I'm happy to take the question.

Mayor Pick: so you're happy to take the question?

Cr Mayne: absolutely, I am happy to take the question.

Cr Reid: from my notes of that meeting, you clearly stated that from the point where you felt that councillor Chuah was against the MCA, that, it was from that point onwards that you sought to oppose and challenge the processes that he was involved in.

Cr Mayne: to clarify councillor Reid, what I said was that the thing that perplexed me about the actions that had happened, is that, I think councillor Chuah first approached former mayor Bill Larkin, chairman of the Manningham Centre, about running for council, obviously before he got elected to council…

Cr Reid: the other way around.

Cr Mayne: councillor Chuah first approached….

Cr Chuah and Cr Reid: no.

Mayor Pick: it's been disputed councillor Mayne.

Cr Mayne: and they all ran on a ticket and preferenced each other and councillor Chuah was elected to council on the preferences of people in the room here, including the former chairman of the Manningham Centre Association, or with the support of…

Mayor Pick: there is dispute. Sorry there is a dispute at this. One of the things that I have to be sensitive about, that any comments that are made that a councillor considers defamatory and incorrect, shouldn't be allowed. You are expressing your, it's false though.

Cr Mayne: I have been asked to explain my position, so I will explain my position.

Cr Reid: I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about whether you recall those statements.

Mayor Pick: councillor Reid let councilor councillor Mayne continue to answer I just asked that he cease making inflammatorys (sic) about councillor Chuah, and just keep maintaining that your state of mind was that had actually occurred.

Cr Mayne: so that was my understanding. If my understanding is incorrect I am happy to be corrected, but my understanding is that councillor Chuah ran with the support of former mayor and chairman of the MCA, Bill Larkin and other running mates. Then we get onto council, and pretty much straight away, there is suddenly this big campaign to undermine the Manningham Centre Association, and we've spent more time on that issue then any other issue, then on bushfires, any other issue, and I found this perplexing. Then I was further perplexed when the deputy mayor was voting against other nursing home proposals and then not telling us about his own nursing home prosposal, so I simply said, in answering the question, I simply said, that in my opinion I lost a bit of respect for councillor Chuah, given that whole range of circumstances, the biggest issue by far is not taking this through council.

Mayor Pick: sorry councillor Mayne, what are you saying? What does this have to do with the context?

Cr Mayne: I've been asked by councilor Reid to explain my…

Mayor Pick: can I ask you a question? Did the actual words you use that council likened it to dirty? Is that what happened?

Cr Mayne: I don't remember the specific words, I certainly said that I felt there was some support… anyway I've answered the question.