In an interview with The Age in the council’s meeting rooms, looking at Swanston Street from City Hall, Hanney describes Capp as the council’s “public spokesman,” while saying his role is “to be seen within the organization “.
“I am an absolute believer in good governance,” he says. “I am very clear about what the Local Government Act allows me to do and not as CEO, and the importance of making sure that, far beyond my time here in the city of Melbourne, good governance it refers to decisions that are made in the chamber, not ad hoc outside the chamber. “
A former Melbourne city executive, who signed a confidentiality agreement on his departure, says he was one of several employees fired by Hanney in 2020 when Melbourne went into blockade.
“Justin Hanney has implemented a culture of fear and dysfunction,” he says. “Justin is constantly [making] calls from the captain. He doesn’t delegate, he doesn’t let anyone make decisions, he’s really super-controlling. “
“Many employees have left the city of Melbourne because of some [Hanney’s] the captain’s calls and the way he handles things, ”says another former employee. “It’s the cat that always has to catch the rat.”
The former employee says all decisions must go through Hanney, which slows everything down.
One councilor, who wanted to remain anonymous, says there were “many fights behind the scenes” over the governance improvements that needed to be made if Hanney’s contract were to be extended.
Melbourne Mayor Sally Capp says decisions had to be made quickly during the blockades. Credit: Simon Schluter
“There is a real power struggle between the CEO and the mayor’s office,” the councilor says. “Everyone in the organization knows that directors are hired and fired at the CEO’s whim, and it’s a pretty scary job.”
The counselor says the result of such a high staff turnover was a “yes” culture where staff answered questions the way they thought Hanney wanted them answered, rather than being honest.
“He has a command, control and dictatorial style,” the councilor says.
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The councilor says the council’s role has become increasingly irrelevant in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, when Hanney stepped up his power.
“We’re still not close to putting the genius back in the bottle and the structure that Justin put in place during the Covid with additional layers of hierarchy and the deputy general manager, none of that has been undone,” says the counselor. “The way decisions are really made is that Justin makes them all and, if the city council has to sign them, it’s only directed by the mayor.”
The Services Union of Australia is also alert to concerns about workplace culture in the city of Melbourne, and staff are telling the union to leave the organization due to workplace culture.
Many employees have left the city of Melbourne due to some [Hanney’s] the captain’s calls and his way of handling things.
A former employee
“When workers experience a work culture where decision-making is arbitrary rather than consultative, a large staff turnover is inevitable,” Acting Deputy Secretary Tash Wark said.
“Workers have described to the union a decision-making process in the city of Melbourne that is ‘unfair’ and ‘arrogant’.”
A Melbourne City Council spokesman says the council had a lower staff turnover than other local government sector organizations.
“In 2021 some senior staff changes were made to align with the council’s new strategy and in response to a number of retirements or promotions,” the spokesman says. “A small number of staff were relocated for performance reasons and we recognize that they may be disappointed.”
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A member of the council’s management team, who also wanted to remain anonymous, says the council works very well and works smoothly.
“I would like a standard bureaucratic stock culture where it’s a little hard to get things done, but it’s not toxic,” he says.
The high salaries of Hanney and other board executive members are also a point of discussion.
Hanney received a $ 20,000 salary increase this year, which raised his salary between $ 510,000 and $ 519,999, more than Prime Minister Daniel Andrews and twice as much as Capp, who received a $ 238,634 allowance for the year. , while councilors received $ 53,957 each.
Staff complain that Hanney has also brought in a number of highly paid “hand-picked” executives who were appointed to fill jobs instead of the jobs that are advertised through a normal process.
In 2020, Hanney appointed executive deputy director Alison Leighton, who earns $ 435,000 a year, making the city of Melbourne one of the only councils to have an assistant executive director, with no position equivalent to the city of Sydney and the much larger City Council. of Brisbane. .
“It’s a lot of money for a position that hasn’t really been justified either in town hall or in public,” says the anonymous councilor.
Hanney says any concentration of power was the result of the coronavirus pandemic, which required swift action by him and Capp.
“We were almost both here [at town hall] close to seven days a week during each of the confinements and there were daily decisions that had to be made, “he said.” The cycle of entering a council chamber in a fortnight, where there was a business that it would have closed within that fortnight and there was a decision needed to support companies, those decisions were made. They were not made in isolation. “
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Capp says that during the confinements there was a need for agility and quick response to problems, and he is not aware of any concerns about the management of the town hall.
“I have a close working relationship with Justin, as I hope all mayors do with their CEOs,” he says. “Both Justin and I are action-oriented people, looking for results, looking for results. I think it’s something we share a lot in common.”
Capp says the high turnover of the city of Melbourne is mainly the result of the impact of the pandemic, but says it is focused on increasing the stability of the council’s workforce.
“It’s been a full two years for everyone, but the city of Melbourne was the hardest hit municipality in Australia, there are expected to be tensions and tensions above normal business,” he says. “We’ve also gone through a big cultural overhaul, which I think is really healthy and fantastic and it’s making a big investment in our people.”
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