By Dominique Tassell
The unveiling of a duck sculpture has prompted the amendment of RADF guidelines after formal invitations were not extended to all Council members, including the Mayor.
To add insult to injury, the event on 2 September occurred in Stanthorpe but only Warwick councillors were present.
The three Warwick councillors present were Councillors Marco Gliori, Jo McNally, and Sheryl Windle.
All three are representatives on the RADF Reference Group, raising questions about why only Warwick councillors are involved in this particular grants process.
The artist has confirmed she only extended invitations to Councillors Gliori and McNally.
Councillor Gliori has confirmed that he invited Councillor Windle after receiving the invitation as she was involved in the RADF committee, however some have still raised questions about why one councillor was informed and not others.
It has been expressed that perhaps the Councillors present should have extended invitations to the other councillors.
Multiple councillors have confirmed they did not receive notice of or invitation to the event.
Councillor Stephen Tancred confirmed that he was not invited, stating that he wasn’t sure if it was “a ministerial oversight”.
“I’ve enquired about it.”
He expressed his disappointment at not being invited, as the event took place in Rotary Park and he is a Rotarian.
“I would have loved to have been there as a Rotarian,” he said.
Councillor Tancred is also involved with the Chamber of Commerce, who were involved in the sculpture unveiling as well.
He said he’s since seen the ducks, and “they look lovely”.
He said he looks forward to taking his grandkids down by the creek to feed the ducks and admire the sculpture, much like he took his own children down to feed the ducks when they were little.
Councillor Tancred stated that community events like the sculpture unveiling are a “great break from the normal Council work” and it’s always good fun “to get out amongst the community”.
“I look forward to more of those opportunities,” he said.
Councillor Cameron Gow stated he was not invited to the event either.
However, he stated that “we as councillors don’t get invited to everything”.
“The mayor gets invited to things by himself occasionally,” he said.
“I don’t expect to get invited to absolutely everything.”
He stated that if the invitation was specific and given to Council, then the staff have done nothing wrong in not forwarding it to all Councillors.
He stated that “the organiser might be able to shed light on why the invite was specific” as if the invitation was specific to certain councillors that was up to them.
“I’m not concerned that I didn’t get an invite to this.”
“Council can’t make the community do things,” he said.
He said Council can make requests, “but you can’t dictate to a community member who they should invite to their event, that’s up to them”.
Councillor Gow stated he is in no way upset with the organisers, and only cares that the community is happy.
“If they’ve made art for the community, they should be congratulated.”
Councillor Ross Bartley confirmed he too was unaware of the event.
Councillor Marco Gliori confirmed that he had informed Councillor Windle of the event, and consulted with Councillors Windle and McNally to carpool to Stanthorpe together for the event.
He stated that he told staff of the event.
He has been criticised for giving the Mayor’s apologies at the event when the Mayor had no knowledge of it.
Councillor Gliori said he always tries to acknowledge the mayor, as he is aware he is a representative of Council at these events.
He said he was not aware at the time if the Mayor had been invited or not.
He stated he would encourage other councillors to attend these kinds of events wherever possible.
Mayor Vic Pennisi stated that he “gets hundreds of invitations and can’t make them all”, and was very comfortable with Councillor Gliori representing Council at the event.
“I’m a big believer that we don’t all need to go,” he said.
“As long as the region is represented.”
When asked whether all Council representatives on the RADF Reference Group being from Warwick was an issue, he stated that having those Councillors on the group was a democratic decision made by Council at the start of their term.
He stated that they had also made the decision to have it reviewed two years after being appointed, so come March new people might be on it.
At the recent Council meeting on 8 September, Councillor Jo McNally requested that this be moved up as she was sick of her integrity being questioned.
The Mayor further commented that he did not believe there was anything meant by him not being invited to the event, as some have suggested it may be due to tension between Council and the Stanthorpe Art Community over decisions to improve current facilities instead of creating new ones.
Maggie Brockie, the artist of the sculpture and event holder, stated that she invited Councillors Jo McNally and Marco Gliori to the event via email.
She stated that she did not invite Councillor Sheryl Windle personally.
Council has confirmed that Councillor Windle heard about the event and, as she had filled in for Councillor McNally on the RADF committee, wanted to attend.
Maggie stated she “was happy that (Councillor Windle) was there and would have been happy if anyone had been there”.
Maggie stated that her RADF obligations meant she had to invite councillors but she decided to only invite those “that have the portfolios that cover the arts and culture”
“I focus on the (Councillors) that are concerned,” she said.
The requirements for RADF grants do state that inviting the Mayor and all councillors to events is just one of many ways that the funding can be acknowledged.
A Council spokesperson stated that “ultimately, the grant recipient is responsible for extending invitations to their event and Council has no input to the list”.
“In the instance of the unveiling of the duck artwork in Stanthorpe recently, the grant recipient invited the RADF Reference Group.”
The spokesperson further stated that while the invitations for the sculpture unveiling were in line with current RADF guidelines, “Council acknowledges the sensitivities around these event openings and apologises that not all Councillors were invited to this official opening on this occasion”.
The RADF guidelines will now be amended to ensure that all future RADF official openings require the recipient to invite all Councillors to the opening.
The Council spokesperson further confirmed that officers will be writing to all existing recipients who are yet to acquit an RADF application.
If they are holding an official opening, they will be advised of the need to invite all Councillors to the official opening.
