A public inquiry into the Wingecarribee Council in the New South Wales Southern Highlands has heard the council was "just wasn't there" in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires and that businesses felt there was "a level of favouritism" when it considered development applications.
The council was suspended last year by the former local government minister Shelley Hancock over concerns ongoing infighting among elected representatives was impacting its ability to function properly.
On Tuesday morning Bundanoon lawyer Sarah Haslinger told commissioner Ross Glover her experience with council after her home was destroyed by fire was "horrendous" and only exacerbated her "angst" and "trauma" as she tried to recover from the devastation.
"There was no acknowledgement for those of us who had lost our homes," she said.
"We were just kind of flailing, waiting to understand what we were supposed to do.
Intimidation claims
Ms Haslinger said the first contact she received was from a company in New Zealand and then from a neighbouring council.
"The Mayor of the Wollindilly Shire reached out to me and said, 'I want to offer my support and condolences,'" she said.
"There was nothing like that from my own Mayor."
Ms Haslinger claimed she was "intimated" by suspended Mayor Duncan Gair after she spoke at a council meeting on January 29, 2020 and requested it waive development application (DA) fees for affected residents.
"Everyone was leaving, and I was standing on my own," Ms Haslinger said.
"The Mayor came towards me … he said something about, 'Just remember I have a lot of support in this town.'
"I thought it was a peculiar thing to say to someone."
Ms Haslinger said when she refused to shake his hand moments later he used a "threatening tone" to remind her he had "lots of friends".
"I was feeling upset," she told the inquiry.
Counsel assisting the inquiry, David Parish, asked Ms Haslinger if she thought the council would be "in a position" to "positively affect" the shire's fire recovery if it were reinstated.
"The only response I have to the idea … is to consider leaving my shire and going somewhere else," she replied.
Station Street cost blow-out
A spokesman for the Friends of Bowral group, John Barrett, also told the inquiry the proposed upgrade of Station Street was "really problematic for a large portion of the community".
He said the project was originally costed at $9.5 million in 2017 but "escalated to about $18m and ended up at about $36m" two years later.
"The project changed in scope, cost and the community were quite concerned about it," Mr Barrett said.
"The design and the concept had changed from what the community were briefed on in 2017 and this concerned us, as we felt there was no consultation on those issues."
The Southern Highlands Chamber of Commerce echoed similar concerns about "very poor" consultation with the council "over many years" while giving evidence to the inquiry on Monday.
The chamber's former chair, Steve Horton, said members sought a review of the business sentiment in the region from the NSW Small Business Commissioner when "things started to blow up".
"We had a number of businesses coming to us about the inability to get development applications (DAs) over the line … about an inability to contact certain members of staff," Mr Horton said.
"We felt that was enough for us to start looking to get an outside view.
"The Small Business Commissioner was the obvious choice for us, because that's his gig."
Perception of 'favouritism'
Mr Horton said the processing of DAs was the biggest issue raised by members in the lead-up to the council being stood down.
He said some approved applications were later overturned without explanation.
"I have had members talk to me about that … where they've seen something go through council only to see it overturned later … and they've questioned that," Mr Horton said.
"People were feeling there was a level of favouritism."
Mr Horton told Mr Glover he believed the council was being worn down by "lobby groups" pushing agendas that hurt business and described it as an "ugly politicisation" of the process by people with shared interests.
"When people are continually ringing you … it will wear you down," Mr Horton said.
Cr Gair and the other suspended councillors are among 52 witnesses due to give evidence at the three-week inquiry, which is examining whether councillors understood their roles and responsibilities, or interfered in operational matters.
It will draw on oral evidence and written submissions, as well as vision of council meetings and documents from audits and reviews supplied by the council and the community.
