If you’re tired of hearing about the child’s play occurring at Ku-ring-gai Council, fear not – for so are we.
Before the close of 2023, Council held their monthly Ordinary Meeting on the 12th of December. Amid an agenda involving the removal of the park bench on Mariana Close in St Ives and dealing with a modification to the Development Application surrounding the North Turramurra Recreation Area, a noteworthy motion was brought forth by Councillor Spencer.
The motion called for a vote of no confidence in the sitting Mayor, Councillor Ngai. Cr Spencer argued that the reason for the motion was due to the behaviour of Mayor Ngai at a public forum held the week prior, on the 5th of December, and the Mayor’s response following the aftermath.
‘There was a departure from order at the last meeting,’ said Cr Spencer during the Ordinary Meeting. ‘Certain Councillors are concerned about your ability to chair this meeting and I’ve been asked to move this motion of no confidence in the Mayor.’
After Councillors Jeff Pettett, Greg Taylor, Barbara Ward, and Martin Smith gave speeches on their opinion of the motion, Mayor Ngai gave his defence to the claims.
‘When you become the mayor, the level of responsibility, especially with co-ordinating public meetings, steps up quite significantly,’ said Mayor Ngai. ‘I have actively sought opportunities to be trained in meeting practices… We do know there is a steep learning curve… Finally, I’d like to say that last week, although that was quite heated, quite passionate, I have seen much worse in previous Council meetings.’
Councillor Christine Kay interjected following Mayor Ngai’s speech, asking if he felt it necessary to offer councillors and the public an apology for his conduct.
Cr Spencer continued to push the vote of no confidence, asserting that Mayor Ngai was not taking responsibility for the incident, and suggesting that Mayor Ngai haphazardly contacted councillors in the middle of the night following the forum, ‘I don’t want to get [up] in the middle of the night and see a lecture email from you for something that I did not do wrong.’
Cr Spencer criticised Mayor Ngai’s need for “training”, saying that Mayor Ngai should have been prepared for the nature of the position before taking the Mayoral seat. It is not unreasonable that the constituents of Ku-ring-gai expect a mayor who possesses the necessary skills to govern meetings and is ready for the role prior to volunteering themselves.
The Post has reached out to Mayor Sam Ngai for an interview. At the time of publication, The Post is still awaiting a response.
Council elections are to be held in September of this year. Hopefully Council can find their footing before it is too late.
