Lesley Yeomans: Australia Correspondent on the Hornsby Shire council being ordered to repay $36 million

A council in Australia’s New South Wales is displeased after being ordered to repay millions of dollars. 

The NSW Government has ordered the Hornsby Shire council to repay $36 million as after six years, it still has yet to develop and build a park. 

Hornsby Mayor Philip Ruddock, a former federal minister, has accused the government of looking to save money ahead of the state budget coming next week. 

Australian Correspondent Lesley Yeomans told Mike Hosking that the NSW Government said that the council has not been able to prove that they’re on track to have anything developed, so it’s time to pay the money back. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So faly we go, Leslie Yumman's back. Let us Leslie,
very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:04):
So the Hornsby Shire Council, how does this work in Australia?
So how is it they're owing the government money?

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Well, they're owing the government money because they were granted
quite a lot of money about six years ago under
the community the Community Stronger Communities Fund and what happened
was thirty six million dollars of the money they were

(00:32):
granted under that fund was for a special park with
sporting facilities. But they've been unable to get that park
up and running and get the sporting facilities built. So
the state government has said, you've had plenty of time
to get it done, you've been going past your deadline.

(00:53):
You haven't been able to prove that you're even on
track track to have anything developed, and so it's time
to pay the money back now. The Stronger Communities Fund
was actually described as pork barreling on steroids back six
years ago when Premier Gladys spiagically and when the then

(01:13):
Premier sort of agreed that yes, it was pork barreling,
but a lot of governments did it and it wasn't illegal,
so it was okay, okay.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
So what's interesting also about this is the Hornsby mayor
is a bloke called Philip Ruddick. And Philip Ruddick used
to be a very senior federal minister. So what's he
going to say for himself.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, he's not a happy man about this. He left
federal politics. He used to be the Attorney general, federal
attorney general. He left politics back in twenty sixteen, but
he became the Hornsby mayor and a Hornsby counselor in
twenty seventeen, so it didn't take him too long to
miss public life to a sort of lesser degree at Hornsby.

(01:57):
And he's not happy because he says that he shouldn't
have to be paid back, that the state government's just
trying to get some more money in before it releases
its state budget. So yeah, he sort of is not happy.
He says, you'll pay it, they'll pay it back, but
they shouldn't have to.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Right take me to Melbourne, so you had you have
King's Birthday yesterday of course, Now this King George statue.
The vandals have they got the video and all of
that on.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
This or no, yes, they have. What happened was on
Sunday night, the eve of the King, the King's Birthday
public holiday, a couple of people have gone to the
statue in King's Domain in the CBD in Melbourne and
they've decided to chop its head off and spray paint

(02:45):
it with some red paint. Now there is a video
that's been uploaded to social media. You can see the
person then a hives or the person. I don't We
don't know if it's a he as there with a
headlight and it's chopped the head off, the heads fall
into the ground and then someone else has come along

(03:06):
and spray painted the statue, so they don't know who
it is as yet. The police and Melbourne City Council
don't know who it is yet, but it has been
uploaded to social media, so where they're still trying to
ascertain who that is and also if it's the same
people who who did some similar things back on the
eve of Australia Day back in January, when a couple

(03:27):
of statue statues were also vandalized.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
World is full of too many pillocks, Leslie, good to
catch up with you appreciate Leslie Emman's out of Australia
for US this Tuesday morning.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
For more from News Talks B listen live on air
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Speaker 1 (03:41):
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