A LOCAL government monitor has been appointed to the Shire of Gingin a move most residents and ratepayers are probably hoping will help stop the shire’s descent into dysfunction.
The escalating number of alleged conduct breaches by councillors may have influenced Local Government Inspector Tony Brown’s decision to appoint a local government monitor on July 30.
Mr Brown’s appointment of a local government monitor came just nine days after the shire’s July 21 ordinary council meeting where the agenda included 10 new alleged breaches of the code of conduct by councillors.
The Local Government Inspector is required by law to publish findings and orders made in relation to conduct and specified breaches under the Local Government Act 1995 and to date six of the 11 listings on that findings and orders list have involved Gingin councillors
Yanchep News Online can’t tell readers much about the 10 new alleged breaches as they are dealt with behind closed doors and also at that July meeting the councillors present voted to move the confidential items to the August agenda as the complainant and the respondent of breaches are required to leave the council chamber during the process and the council would not have had a quorum.
But Yanchep News Online can tell you what the Local Government Inspector findings and orders list said about the six earlier complaints directed at Gingin councillors.
One complaint was lodged by Gabbadah resident Megan Kolbe and was referred to the principal adjudicator on May 5.
The complaint alleged a conduct breach of regulation 18 of the Local Government (Model Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021 by councillor Craig Hyne.
Local Government (Model Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021 regulation 18 deals with securing personal advantage or disadvantaging others.
The listing dated July 10 said the adjudicator considered the matter and determined that no breach was committed.
Cr Lincoln Stewart submitted three complaints alleging code of conduct breaches by President Linda Balcombe, which were received by the adjudicator’s office on May 5 under the Local Government (Model Code of Conduct) Regulations and the Shire of Gingin Meeting Procedures Local Law 2014.
The adjudicator considered the matters together and determined that with matter number 2026-01071 (an alleged breach of regulations 18, 21, 4) there was no breach, with matter number 2026-01072 (an alleged breach of regulation 4) there was a breach and with matter number 2026-01102 (an alleged breach of regulation 18) there was no breach.
Local Government (Model Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021 regulation 18 deals with securing personal advantage or disadvantaging others, regulation 21 deals with disclosure of information and regulation while regulation 4 deals with personal integrity.
The listing dated July 1 said the adjudicator considered the breach (matter number 2026-01072) and ordered that no sanction be imposed.
“The adjudicator has now finalised dealing with the complaint and the adjudication support and research officer has notified the complainant and respondent of the outcome,’’ the listing said.
The adjudicator also dealt with matter numbers 2026-01024 and 2026-01045 the office received on April 23 alleging that Cr Jason Weeks had breached the Local Government (Model Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021.
The listing dated June 10 said the adjudicator had considered the matters and determined that no breach had been committed.
The Shire of Gingin’s agenda for the July 21 ordinary council meeting included 10 new alleged breaches of the code of conduct by councillors.According to a Shire of Gingin governance record of information about conduct on February 17 Cr Balcombe was found to have breached cl.10(d) at the ordinary council meeting on December 16 last year by reason of non-compliance with cl. 7.12 of the Shire of Gingin Meeting Procedures Local Law 2014.
“Specifically, Cr Balcombe allowed debate on an amendment to a motion which had already been debated and carried,’’ the conduct record said.
“No further action was required as the breach was procedural in nature.’’
Section 8A.3 of the January 1, 2026 Local Government Inspector’s Breach complaints: a guide to the breach complaints process says the rules of conduct include misuse of local government resources, securing personal advantage or disadvantaging others, prohibition against involvement in administration, relationship with local government employees, disclosure of information, disclosure of interests and compliance with plan requirement.
In March Yanchep News Online reported that Cr Stewart, who was found in 2024 to have committed a minor breach of the code of conduct regulations had the decision and a sanction, which would have required him to apologise to former Shire of Gingin employee Phillip Barrett, set aside after taking his case to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT).
But SAT also said there were indications of a potential clash between Cr Stewart’s wildlife sanctuary and councillor roles and the consequential risk of inappropriate engagement with and in respect of shire employees.
“While the tribunal appreciates the admirable work of the wildlife sanctuary of which (Cr Stewart) is a director and co-owner, that role and the pursuance of that work should be carefully managed to avoid the applicant’s conduct as a councillor being called into question by reason of his direct engagement with a senior employee of the shire,’’ SAT said.
Former City of Melville chief executive officer Shayne Silcox starts in the role of local government monitor for the shire on Monday, August 3 and is due to finish on February 3 next year.
Cr Balcombe said the shire welcomed the appointment and looked forward to working constructively with Dr Silcox.
“The appointment of a local government monitor provides an opportunity to reinforce good governance and support the council in delivering the best possible outcomes for our community,” Cr Balcombe said.
“Good governance is fundamental to maintaining community confidence in local government.
“We welcome the experience and independent perspective Dr Silcox brings to the role and look forward to working collaboratively with him to further strengthen our governance practices while continuing to focus on delivering services and projects for our community.”
Other issues the shire is dealing with include the appointment of a new chief executive officer after three chiefs leaving in a space of eight years, a considerable high turnover of staff and some very high water bills for a shire-owned property, which have not been adequately explained to ratepayers.
In the background of all this is court action Cr Stewart has taken against the Western Australian Electoral Commissioner in an election invalidity complaint, which returns to court on August 28.
Then there is the court case involving Cr Balcombe’s husband Stephen Balcombe, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence which is due back in Midland Magistrates Court on October 30.
On Friday, July 31 the shire announced a special council meeting to be held behind closed doors on Tuesday, August 4 to discuss two matters – one relating to the temporary chief executive officer and two a request for provision of information to the council in relation to coastal erosion.
