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The dismissal of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council on 27 February 2008 marked the end of a series of events involving a project which was initiated in 2001 in the New South Wales coastal town of Port Macquarie to build a cultural and entertainment centre, known to locals as the Glasshouse. The project, initially a joint venture with the management of the neighbouring shopping centre, Port Central, was originally expected to cost the Council 7.3 million. However, by late 2007, despite the centre not yet having opened, the costs had blown out to over A$41.7 million, with interest repayments likely to extend the Council's liability to A$66 million. On 27 July 2007, a full public inquiry was announced by the Minister for Local Government, Paul Lynch. The inquiry reported its findings in February 2008. It found that the Council had failed to provide appropriate financial and project management and had lost control of the costs, that the project costs had harmed the Council's ability to provide services and amenities to the community, and that the Council's communications management strategy had resulted in inadequate consultation with the public and inappropriate regard to their concerns. The Minister for Local Government dismissed the Council and its Mayor, Rob Drew, and appointed an administrator upon receiving the inquiry's report. Drew was critical of the process throughout, maintaining that errors had been made and misinformation had been accepted as fact; however, the New South Wales Urban Task Force, a property development lobby group, believed the sacking served as a warning to other Councils to stick to "core responsibilities".〔 The events continued to impact upon the community and the individuals involved. At a federal by-election for the normally safe National Party seat of Lyne in which Port Macquarie is located, the former mayor, who was the endorsed National candidate, failed to win against Rob Oakeshott, an independent politician, and a former state member of parliament who had been openly critical of the Council throughout the drama. During the period under administration, voluntary redundancies were offered to 27 staff in order to improve the Council's financial position. In 2012, the community elected a representative Council and Mayor; replacing the administrator appointed in 2008. ==Background== On 30 March 1999, the Council met to initiate planning for a centre to house the visual and performing arts at the former Civic Centre site in the Port Macquarie central business district. It recommended a project plan be developed by 2001. On 21 August 2000 a Cultural Facilities Taskforce was created. In December 2000, the Council approached the management of the neighbouring shopping centre, Port Central, about a possible joint venture on the site, and the Council endorsed further negotiations on 28 May 2001. The joint venture was expected to cost around A$13.5 million, with the Council contributing A$7.3 million.〔Inquiry report, chapter 3.〕 The joint venture collapsed in August 2002 because the Council was not prepared to accommodate the needs of their commercial partner to make the project viable, and decided to go it alone. The new centre became an icon building under the direction of the Council's General Manager, managed by a Project Control group including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The costs blew out considerably by 28 June 2004, when the Council unanimously backed the project, outlays had already reached A$15–A$20 million, and by late 2007 they had reached A$41.7 million.〔 This was due to a range of factors including that the Council bought and demolished neighbouring shops to make the facility big enough to include meeting rooms and conference facilities, and a drain built by convicts in the 19th century and still in remarkably good condition was discovered by archaeologists and needed to be preserved. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Port Macquarie-Hastings Council dismissal, 2008」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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