Fierce rebuttal: Murray River Council Deputy Mayor Neil Gorey responds to fellow councillor Tom Weyrich’s comments in Monday’s Riv, while defending Mayor Frank Crawley. Photo: Supplied
In this letter, I am responding to recent comments that Cr Tom Weyrich has made on the 8th of April edition of the Riverine Herald and the 12th of March edition of Mathoura Matters.
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I am at least pleased that Cr Weyrich has acknowledged that he did state that “there could be fisticuffs” at the councillor function which was held on the night of the December council meeting. At no time did I see this as a joke, given his history of aggression towards others. As I have previously stated, Cr Weyrich became very angry at my show of support for Moulamein. His mentioning of fisticuffs was certainly a display of his anger towards me. It needs to be considered, that at the time of this incident occurring, Cr Weyrich was on a conditional release order, having been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, after repeatedly striking an elderly man in a Moama car wash. He has also stormed out of meetings on a number of occasions, stating he is leaving before something serious happens.
He has again attacked the Barham Micro Abattoir in his recent article in the Riverine Herald. For a project to take five years from start to finish is not unusual, especially given it was commenced during COVID and then unfortunately the main contractor was diagnosed with a major illness. At the recent council meeting, Cr Weyrich claimed that the abattoir will never be fit for purpose, despite an audit report showing that minor alterations are needed to pass the audit. I called Cr Weyrich on a “Point of Order” and asked him to produce the evidence to support his allegation. As predicted, Cr Weyrich was not able to produce the evidence and he was then required to withdraw his comment. The Barham Micro Abattoir is a wonderful project which will assist many meat producers to market their own produce and will service a large footprint, not just the Barham area.
Cr Weyrich also needs to be taken to task for his comments in the ‘Mathoura Matters’ where his history of making derogatory comments towards this proud town was again on display. Moulamein was once the main headquarters for the former Wakool Shire Council, employing over 20 staff at the council office but with the merger, this number has been reduced to less than five.
Back and forth: Cr Tom Weyrich had a lot to say in Monday’s Riv, including that the last Murray River Council meeting was a “very well-rehearsed and scripted character assassination of me”. Photo: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Cr Weyrich described Moulamein as having a ski lake in the centre of town, filled with water purchased by council, which could not be any further from the truth. The lake in actual fact is positioned on the edge of the town, and this shows the ignorance of Cr Weyrich. The lake, which was constructed by local volunteer labour, using their own machinery, serves as an emergency water supply for the town. During the centennial drought, when it was felt the town could run out of water, volunteers again stepped in to increase the size of the lake to drought-proof Moulamein. Recreational boat users pay a fee to use this lake, it is not a free service. In Mathoura Matters, he also states that Moulamein has two recreation reserves, when in fact one is a racetrack which is maintained by local volunteers.
To my knowledge, Cr Weyrich has never attended a council meeting in the western end of the Greater Wakool Ward (Kyalite, Goodnight, Tooleybuc, Koraleigh and Murray Downs) and on the rare occasion has attended one in Moulamein, and it certainly shows with his ignorance of this ward. Cr Weyrich should note that it is the role of a councillor to serve the best interests of the entire council area, not just the ward you reside in or represent.
In relation to the special rate variation, several councillors including myself thought that it was too early for a rate variation and more analysis was required on reducing expenditure and maximising non-rate revenue. In December 2023, council adopted a target to eliminate the book deficit over a 10-year period.
How the Christmas function for councillors and senior staff was a secret has me puzzled. The normal invitations were sent, and councillors and staff paid for their own drinks. Cr Weyrich was in attendance.
I do believe that Cr Weyrich’s comments on the Mayor refusing to undertake mediation are a false depiction of what actually occurred. I understand the Mayor was happy to meet with Cr Weyrich, but asked that an independent person also be present, so that there could only be one version of the truth, however Cr Weyrich then declined to meet.
There have been headlines and comments in the paper about a division within council. Nothing is further from the truth. There are seven councillors that have great respect for each other and work as a united team in a supportive way. All councillors follow the required code of conduct except for Cr Weyrich who was not prepared to guarantee that he would abide by the code at the March 2024 meeting.
Cr Weyrich continually uses the strategy of “playing the victim” when called out for his misconduct. Cr Weyrich would benefit greatly from undertaking councillor training on the code of conduct.
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