City of Greater Geelong

A citizens’ jury will help decide how Geelong’s mayor is elected and whether to have multi-member wards. The state government hopes this will prevent a recurrence of the dysfunction that led to the council’s sacking.

Can an appointed administrator be an influential voice in reform of the local government sector? The VLGA says it expects the new three-person team appointed to run City of Greater Geelong to be a full participant.

Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons threatened to sue the council CEO if bullying allegations were made public, the independent report revealed. Former Victorian mandarin Yehudi Blacher will be installed as administrator.

The Victorian government is facing pushback as it moves to sack Geelong’s council over “serious governance failures”. The Municipal Association of Victoria tells The Mandarin it’s concerned citizens won’t have a voice.

The City of Greater Geelong governance inquiry was leaked as soon as it got to the minister’s office. A news reporter who worked to uncover a culture of bullying says the councillors might all be dismissed.