2021-10-08 Special Meeting Minutes

SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES                                                                    8 OCTOBER 2021


PURPOSE OF MEETING
The purpose of the Special Meeting was to consider the Draft Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan
(CHAP) Community Consultation Submissions.


1    ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES

     COUNCILLORS
     Councillor C Stewart, Mayor
     Councillor K Finzel
     Councillor J Jurisevic
     Councillor A Lorentson
     Councillor B Stockwell
     Councillor T Wegener
     Councillor F Wilkie

     EXECUTIVE
     B de Chastel, Chief Executive Officer
     A Dow, Acting Director Environment and Sustainable Development
     L Sengstock, Director Infrastructure Services

     APOLOGIES
     Nil.

     The meeting commenced at 9.00am.

2    REPORTS

     1      DRAFT COASTAL HAZARDS                     ADAPTATION          PLAN      (CHAP)      COMMUNITY
            CONSULTATION SUBMISSIONS
            In accordance with Chapter 5B of the Local Government Act 2009, Cr Lorentson provided the
            following declaration to the meeting of a declarable conflict of interest in this matter:
            I, Cr Lorentson, inform the meeting that I have a declarable conflict of interest in this matter as
            my brother, Gabriel Cerasani, owns a property at Beaches Estate, Sunrise Beach which is one of
            the properties identified as `at risk' under the draft CHAP. My brother owns a beachfront property
            at Sunrise Beach. The Property is directly affected by the draft CHAP and directly covered by
            mapping looking at future erosion risk based on future models. My brother has also made a
            submission on the CHAP and is also a member of the executive committee of the Eastern
            Beaches Protection Association Inc. During my election campaign my brother helped me with my
            campaign, handed out voting cards and 2 of my election signs were outside his property on David
            Low Way. At a recent meeting, I declared my COI and asked to leave the room as I have in the
            past because although I believe I could consider the matter impartially and in the public interest,
            I believe that some members of the public may still have a perception of bias. Because of the
            significance of the CHAP and its Shire-wide implications, and because I have received legal
            advice from Council’s lawyers to state that I have a declarable and not prescribed COI, I would
            like to exercise my right to due process under s150 ES(3) of the Local Government Act 2009,and
            ask that the Councillors present at this meeting room, be my judge and decide whether I must
            leave the room or if I can stay and participate in the meeting, including voting on the matter. The
            legal advice received a few days ago, states that my personal interest in matters concerning the
            CHAP in fact form the basis of a declarable conflict of interest and not a prescribed interest: “when
            matters being considered by Council is not an application, rather the draft CHAP, we consider
            that the personal interest is not caught by s150EI and is not capable of forming the basis of a
            prescribed COI in matters concerning the CHAP.” It is on record that on a number of occasions

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