Councillor Alan Blake will be removed from his role of chairing Cairns Regional Council's key Finance and Administration Committee.
The move reflects a desire to move the disruptive Councillor from a key management portfolio within Council's committees.
In a closed Council session yesterday, Councillor Forsyth was proposed as chair of the Works and Services, and also Sports, Arts, Culture and Community Services committees, however Councillor Paul Gregory and Deputy Mayor Margaret Cochrane have retained those roles. The vote was 5 / 6 for Cr Forsyth, showed a strong desire to change the chairs and a more left-leaning Council.
Councillor Julia Leu was also touted as the chair of the finance committee, however first-time Councillor Linda Cooper will take on the role of chairing the finance committee.
Alan Blake was involved in a very divisive inquiry that Council paid $17,000 to investigate how a deal with Radio 846am 4CA was done. Councillor Blake, along with Sno Bonneau, attempted to undermine Mayor Val Schier in early April by suggesting she was behind a deal to pay for radio air-time. The report cleared the Mayor of any wrong-doing or any knowledge of the arrangement that was set up by Council's Corporate Communications Manager, Kerie Hull.
Councillor Blake has befriended the besieged Hull, seen with her at social functions and weekend trips with her children. He has lost a great deal of support from fellow councillors over his involvement in the affair that has shamed the Council's relationship with the community.
It is expected that Kerie Hull will also be dismissed from her $130,000 role in the next few days, after negotiating a WorkCover agreement for substantial time away from her job as the 4CA investigation occurred. A replacement has been managing Council's media since Hull left the office on sick leave.
Councillor Blake's credibility has been left in tatters following the last three months, and has also retained little support amongst his Liberal Party colleagues, who say they hope he will simply not renew his party membership.
The move reflects a desire to move the disruptive Councillor from a key management portfolio within Council's committees.
In a closed Council session yesterday, Councillor Forsyth was proposed as chair of the Works and Services, and also Sports, Arts, Culture and Community Services committees, however Councillor Paul Gregory and Deputy Mayor Margaret Cochrane have retained those roles. The vote was 5 / 6 for Cr Forsyth, showed a strong desire to change the chairs and a more left-leaning Council.
Councillor Julia Leu was also touted as the chair of the finance committee, however first-time Councillor Linda Cooper will take on the role of chairing the finance committee.
Alan Blake was involved in a very divisive inquiry that Council paid $17,000 to investigate how a deal with Radio 846am 4CA was done. Councillor Blake, along with Sno Bonneau, attempted to undermine Mayor Val Schier in early April by suggesting she was behind a deal to pay for radio air-time. The report cleared the Mayor of any wrong-doing or any knowledge of the arrangement that was set up by Council's Corporate Communications Manager, Kerie Hull.
Councillor Blake has befriended the besieged Hull, seen with her at social functions and weekend trips with her children. He has lost a great deal of support from fellow councillors over his involvement in the affair that has shamed the Council's relationship with the community.
It is expected that Kerie Hull will also be dismissed from her $130,000 role in the next few days, after negotiating a WorkCover agreement for substantial time away from her job as the 4CA investigation occurred. A replacement has been managing Council's media since Hull left the office on sick leave.
Councillor Blake's credibility has been left in tatters following the last three months, and has also retained little support amongst his Liberal Party colleagues, who say they hope he will simply not renew his party membership.
UPDATE: The Mayor was voted unchallenged as chair of the Planning and Environment committee, a position she was keen to retain.
18 comments:
My WorkCover premium for the year is about $ 4000.
Great to see that that money is being used to pay incompetent council workers on "sick leave".
Everytime I see these huge salaries flash past my eyes, and I think of the dirty, disgusting inner streets of Cairns, I wonder why the hell can't the Council employ a couple of street cleaners to gout each morning and clean the streets?? If each Councillor and hoi polloi within the Council gave up $10,000 of their generous salaries, a few part time street cleaners could be employed to keep the CBD looking decent.
As a Liberal Party Member we have always joked and likened Alan Blake in charge of Finance as the Fox in Charge of the Henhouse. Well all good things come to those who wait. Hopefully he will also quit the party where he is considered an embarassment especially since his foray into Campaign Manager at the last election in the safest seat in Australia.
Well done to Coops. She has more financial accumen in her little finger than Blake has in his entire body. She also is a successful business person who can relate to Small Business in Cairns. I feel this is a very positive move.
Unreal you all knock alan snake !
He was awesome at the bannana rally sticking up for a liberal tee shirt wearing rally hijacker , with "do you know who I am" thrusting his white shirt at me ,and trying to shut me up .
Unfortunately he was not very impressive when I told him to p**s off.
He left quicker than a peace activist at a gun convention.
But he was scary in his mind.
Surely he is good at something , but I am not sure at what yet.
Great to see the only successful UNITY PARTY member take on the most responsible, most important, most demanding and most prestigious chair on any committee.
Go go Linda ... and think what might have been if Paul Freebody had been there to support you.
Well, thanks for that KayBee.
The very first thing Linda Cooper did when she was elected, was disown all connections with that mob called Unity.
The legacy of Byrne is dead and buried.
Only the Cairns Post seems to retain him on speed-dial every time they're desperate for a quote about the good ol days under Sgt Major KB.
Of course it is good news to see Blake get the bullet,however when are we going to see the Henry report made public,and full details of the Briggs payout given to ratepayers.
It seems that this information is going to be swept under the carpet.
Come on councillors,assert your authority,get some action on these matters and earn your money.
" negotiating a WorkCover agreement "
As someone that handled workers workcover/comcare claims for seven years .
I would love to know how you negotiate a worker cover claim for I presume stress ?
As it is one of the hardest claims to get up .
In all the years I dealt with claims to comcare on behalf of workers , I can,t recall a successful claim for stress.
To think someone could get a Claim up in a few months after going off work , because they may have been implacted in a setup of the mayor beggars belief !
And I won every appeal I ever ran .
If mikes information is accurate.
I would believe there is something shifty going on AGAIN !
You seem proud of what you did "claims man" in knocking back claims for work related stress. Ever wonder about the long consequences of what you have done?
Just forget the broken people making the claims...think about the sociopaths and sadists out there who go on unchecked to claim further victims, thanks to people like you.
Yes "claims man", think of the consequences of your actions.
Perhaps as fitting karma for you "claims man", you might end up in an Aged Care institution with just the most God-loving woman (not) taking care you meet your maker a lot earlier than He intended.. what goes around....
noc you dickhead ,read it correctly !
"As it is one of the hardest claims to get up .
In all the years I dealt with claims to comcare on behalf of workers , I can,t recall a successful claim for stress."
I represented the people who tried to make the claim ,it was the companies that made it impossible to prove the claim was stress related.
How do you feel now with your moronic rant ?
If you believe the claims of Alan Blake in the Cairns Post he was not sacked but stepped aside to provide an opportunity for a more junior Councillor. Of course this is like saying there was no Holocaust. Once again Blake demonstrates his creativity with the truth for which he's famous throughout all his business dealings. At least he consistantly lies and cheats and fortunately gets found out. I remember a comment on this Blog that if Blake was such a successful businessman around town why is he a Councillor and not running his old businesses.
Alan Blake cheat. That is a disgusting claim and you should check with his ex wife, previous girlfriend and Kerrie Hull's Husband before making these claims.
I have it from very good authority that Councillor Coops is still very much a "unity" girl. KB is still a close advisor and she is still his loyal ally.
My apology "claims man". I did misinterpret your role. Glad to hear you are on the side of justice and fairness. I stand by my statement that the people who reject stress claims are causing havoc and the rise and rise of sociopathic behaviour in the workplace which of course, ultimately affects all of us as clients etc.
It may be the devil or it may be the lord but your going to have to serve somebody"
Alan Blake through his business dealings and conquests has shown who he serves and it appears to be himself as does Kerry Hull.
In public office and in the service of the public we serve the public.
The problem we all have is this couple have served themselves at our expense.
The questions are.
Why do people like this think they are so right and everyone else is wrong?
In a small city like Cairns how can they think no one cares?
What moral grounds do they have to continue their activities?
How can the Henry report be kept from the rate payers when these questions need to be answered?
I'd like to know the answers to these and many other questions.
Alan and Kerry need to come out from under the doona and set the record strait and stop the threats and lies because it just makes things worse for all concerned.
well well well, not only is the ex liberal Blake at last bounced out of the cash drawer (just look at his own affairs for success rate!) but we nearly had the hard core lefty Forsyth, and aren't labor doing a stand up job with government budgets these days, get her card carrying union mitts on the loot. Thankfully Coops got the nod as she at least has made a profit once or twice in her career!
Since Coops is now the Finance chair, will she now reveal the missing developer's donations that amount to more than $500 on her Council page? (http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/content/councillors/Division6.htm)
Or are the returns wrong?
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