The engineering expert severed ties with the council after spending several months working from home as a result of COVID-19 working protocols.
He is the most senior of many shire employees who have been affected by the vaccination mandate, which has become part of life for most people involved in the national workforce.
Campaspe Shire chief executive officer Declan Moore, in a statement to The Riv via the shire’s communications department, said: “I can confirm that Dr Deller left council’s employ earlier this year.
“I don’t comment on staff members, past or current, their right to privacy is always respected.
“Council’s COVID measures met, and continue to meet, the state’s requirements and have been applied consistently.
“Council has a grievance procedure that any staff member may initiate, it is doubtful that whistleblower protections extend to gossip or potentially defamatory remarks about individuals.”
The final sentence of his response was in relation to consistent emails and phone calls that have been made to The Riv, and Campaspe Shire councillors, surrounding COVID-19 employment conditions.
Dr Deller, who started with Campaspe in September 2019, finished with the council in February after making what was believed to be personal choices in regard to COVID-19 protocols.
The Riv has been unable to establish whether Dr Deller’s departure had anything to do with his vaccination status, or even an inability to secure a medical exemption to continue working with the council.
Senior officers deciding to end their employment with councils is not unusual, a prime example being the resignation of Swan Hill Council chief executive officer John McLinden.
He resigned in October last year rather than having his COVID-19 vaccination.
All Campaspe Shire employees are required to be double vaccinated.
The council did, however, work with staff who had vaccination concerns and allowed them time to make a decision on their future with the organisation.
That time period reportedly expired for Dr Deller in February when the decision was made for him to finish with the shire.
There is no suggestion that Campaspe council has acted inappropriately in relation to its treatment of staff during COVID-19, but it is unclear exactly why Dr Deller ended his time at the council.
Along with chief executive officer Declan Moore, corporate general manager Fleur Cousins, Keith Oberin (communty general manager) and Paul McKenzie (development general manager), he was one of the council’s key figures.
He had been working from home since November, which was not unusual for Campaspe shire staff — however, eventually a decision was made that he would not be returning to the office.
Dr Deller is now listed as a senior partner with Green Strategy Pty Ltd, which is an environmental services company that deals in high-level, carbon-offset programs.
He started in that role in February, immediately after leaving the council — ending a two-and-a-half-year appointment at the Campaspe Shire.
Only weeks after he ended his employment with the council he was back at his former workplace delivering a presentation about incentives available to councils for moving toward sustainable transport infrastructure.
The Riv was made aware of Dr Deller’s return to the Campaspe Shire offices by a person identifying themselves only as a “shire whistleblower”.
This “whistleblower” had sent several emails to council about their dissatisfaction with the handling of their own situation.
Dr Deller was a key figure in the development of the Campaspe Shire capital works program, recognised as the single most expensive component of the local government authority’s budget.
His deputy during his time at Campaspe council, Daniel Basham, has taken on the role as acting general manager infrastructure.
Campaspe Shire is in the middle of a massive capital works program and Dr Deller’s departure is certainly not at an ideal time of the program’s implementation.
The local government authority is advertising on its website for six engineering roles, ranging in salary from $70,000 to $125,000.
The general manager’s role is not advertised on the site.
Along with several councils the Campaspe shire is struggling to fill its engineering roles with suitably qualified staff.
Dr Deller came to Campaspe Shire Council after four years with Bega Valley and Toowoomba councils.
He started in local government in 1999, at Hervey Bay council.
