THE review of governance and decision making around the “Harry Potter: Forbidden Forest Experience” held at The Briars has been approved by shire councillors after a fiery meeting on 16 September. The report, hundreds of pages in length, was sent to councillors Friday afternoon (13 September) to be discussed at the unscheduled council meeting on Monday 16 September, mere hours before caretaker period kicked in.
The report followed a council resolution on 28 May to “review the processes leading to, and the outcomes of the event being held at The Briars” requiring the report be “presented to councillors prior to the caretaker period”. The review would be required to include an “assessment and review of the processes leading up to and including the initial council decision to hold the event at the Sanctuary, and the subsequent decision to relocate the event”.
The review of the shire’s governance and decision-making processes was carried out by the shire’s acting manager – governance, Pam Vercoe, and then reviewed by the appointed independent probity advisor, business management consultants Comprara.
The report found nothing to suggest the initial decision-making process was flawed but identified three areas for improvement with the following recommendations:
- revision of the Mornington Peninsula Shire events policy to provide further clarity on event classification
- review of methodologies available for estimating economic impacts
- development of a formal mechanism and policy position for market-led approaches to the shire.
The probity advisor also noted that strict confidentiality requirements and the non-disclosure agreements required by the event organiser significantly hampered communications about the event. On the back of the report the shire has committed to putting processes in place to deal with similar requests in the future.
The event evaluation also found the experience provided a significant financial boost for the community, with up to $56 million injected into the local economy.
The unscheduled council meeting to discuss the report had fiery moments, and at one stage was momentarily adjourned by the chair mayor Brooks due to disquiet in the public gallery. It started poorly for members of the public that attended seeking accountability for the decision making and processes that initially had the event being held in a wildlife sanctuary. The chair of the meeting ruled that due to the unscheduled nature of the meeting, public questions would not be allowed, but rather could be emailed to the CEO John Baker. “Why would that have not been communicated before the meeting?” said Cr Anthony Marsh. “In hindsight it might have been useful, but the bottom line is it’s in our governance rules,” said shire CEO John Baker.
Criticism of the tabled report came from multiple councillors, with Marsh’s comments the most pointed, saying the report was “sprinkled with perceived independence, full of exclusions and limitations”. “The review we have in front of us is exactly as I expected,” said Marsh. “The scope approved in secret, nearly 1000 pages dumped in the 11th hour, littered with redactions and confidentiality and failing to address some of the most obvious questions.” “To the many community members who stepped up to fight this fight… you helped to make this event the success it was by avoiding the disaster it could have been. “I know tonight this review is not what you asked for or were promised, but thank you sincerely for your attention, for your passion and dedication. It matters and it made all the difference.”
Cr Celi pushed back saying “I just want to make it clear, for the record, that there has been no secrecy”. “This council has been as transparent as legally possible in helping to satisfy the community with the questions and the curiosity they’ve had about the process that we’ve undertaken in regards to the event held at The Briars.” “I think the wizardry, the witch hunts and the inquisition stops, hopefully, tonight.”
Cr Gill said “The poor decision making, in my opinion, leading up to the original decision, made our community wary of all the processes”. “The upset in our community is obvious and relates to transparency and accountability, which was trapped within the confidentiality and legal implications.” “I believe that an apology was and is required and the outcomes of the motion should be to ensure that this situation doesn’t occur again by altering the way we interact with our community.”
Members of the Save Briars Sanctuary groups left before the end of the meeting with spokesperson, Louise Page, later telling The News “To be frank, it’s the cover up we expected. The seriousness has been down played by omissions of information and obfuscation regarding any benefit to ratepayers”. “The general flavour is that the shire doesn’t appear to believe it was at fault and the review was a box ticking exercise.”
In the end, councillors voted to accept the “learnings, recommendations and findings” of the report with only Crs Marsh, Dixon and Bissinger voting against its adoption.
First published in the Mornington News – 24 September 2024
