RUSSELL Webb has said the deputy mayor’s accusation of leveling a political attack has potential to cause division within council.
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Tamworth Regional Council deputy mayor Helen Tickle said Cr Webb had subjected Mark Rodda to a political attack at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Cr Webb tried to move an amendment to Cr Rodda’s request to spend part of his allowance to attend a media training course in Sydney.
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He suggested the general manager should find a media course in Tamworth which all councillors could attend, prompting a rebuke from the deputy mayor
“I think Helen was out of order and it has the potential to cause division within the council,” Cr Webb told The Leader.
Cr Webb, a long-time Nationals’ Party member, insisted there was “no malice” or “political intent” in his amendment and said it was about getting a better deal for the organisation and ratepayers.
“Where’s the politics come into it,” he said.
While Cr Tickle and Cr Webb hold allegiances to federal political rivals, Tony Windsor and Barnaby Joyce, he said it’s never been an issue before.
Cr Tickle didn’t believe the comments would lead to a rift with the council.
“We’re very fortunate what happens in the chambers stays in the chambers, our first and foremost focus is representing the community,” she said.
Cr Tickle wouldn’t elaborate on why she censured Cr Webb’s amendment as political.
“Anyone that’s politically savvy could work that one right out,” she said.
“In my nine-and-a-half years on council I’ve not seen any professional development or conference attendance questioned.”
The councillor at the centre of the “quite unprecedented” spat said he was “personally appalled”.
“In my time as a councillor, there’s never been questions of the training proclivities of my fellow councillors,” he said.
Cr Rodda was a Nationals’ member up until about four years ago, when he became “disillusioned at some of the policy decisions which were detrimental to my fellow ratepayers”.
He’s been criticising and expressing his concern with government decisions and he believed it opened him up to the attack.
He doesn’t think the incident will open up a rift within council.
“I think we’ve been a good council,” he said.
“We’ve had plenty of disagreements, but we’ve never let that be a cloud over voting on a certain issue.
“I would have to resign if I was not going to support something because it was something Russell felt strongly about.”
He said he’d be happy for TRC to publish online councillors’ expenditure of training allowance from the last 10 years, in the interest of “transparency and accountability”.