Northern Midlands Council Watch

13/10/2026

08/10/2026

07/10/2026

THE DAM WALLS HAVE BURST .... a group that said they were independent in complete dissaray.

While we've been talking about a medical centre for Evandale, improving the Perth Recreation Oval and a zero per cent rate rise in year one, the 81 High Street crew have spent the week coming apart.

For months the message from this page has been simple: look at who stands with whom.

Look at the signs.

Look at who shares whose posts.

I have pointed this out simply because they are trying to take the micky out of voters. They treat voters as idiots and with complete contempt.

They said there were no alignments.

This week they printed them.

And then reaffirmed the same in a sms this morning.

Unsolicited text messages. A scramble over who authorised what.

A group that spent the whole campaign insisting they were independent, now publicly handing out each other's names.

None of that is an accident, and none of it is new. The only new thing is that you can see it.

Here is what I'd ask.

Why is it that seeking accountability — asking where your rates went, asking why a $600,000 decision was made behind closed doors — gets met with this much heat?

Because it's working.

You are only going to get this type of behaviour when they have so much to hide, and are on the verge of hysteria as the walls come crumbling down around them.

Meanwhile the page of truth grew another 17000 views over night.

PEOPLE WANT THE TRUTH....... AND THE RATEPAYERS WANT THEIR $110k BACK ...... with your support we can do both.

Ballot packs are in letterboxes now. Votes must reach the Electoral Commission by 2pm, Tuesday 27 October.

06/10/2026

05/10/2026

THE CARDS ARE ON THE TABLE

For months the question in this election has been who is actually aligned with whom. This week it was answered, in print, by the people involved.

A how-to-vote card is now circulating for Wendy Mitchell. It asks for Vote 1 Mitchell for Mayor and Vote 2 Alison Andrews. For Deputy Mayor it names one person: Richard Archer. Its councillor line carries Mitchell, Andrews, Archer, Mary Knowles, Adam Barnett and three others.

It is authorised by A. Calvert — Andrew Calvert, a Northern Midlands councillor from 2007 to 2022.

Ms Mitchell's statement in your ballot pack describes her as "a fresh, independent, non-aligned voice."

There is more. Ms Mitchell sits on the board of the Northern Midlands Business Association. So does Ian Goninon, a councillor for some twenty years until he lost his seat in 2022. According to the Council's own budget papers, the NMBA receives about $90,000 a year of ratepayers' money, plus Council administrative support, and runs the Longford visitor centre. None of this appears in her candidate statement.

Mr Archer and Ms Andrews are both sitting councillors. On 21 September, both voted against seeking independent legal advice on the legality of the $600,000 purchase of 81 High Street, Campbell Town. The motion passed anyway, 5–4, in front of roughly fifty ratepayers. Settlement went through on 5 October.

The Council's own answers to questions on notice confirm there was no independent valuation, no community consultation before the purchase, no provision in the budget, and no modelling of visitor numbers. The price itself is still withheld.

Mr Barnett's position speaks for itself. The Tasmanian Electoral Commission publicly contradicted his explanation of where he obtained residents' mobile numbers. The Labor Party confirmed he is a Labor-supported candidate whose campaign receives party resources.

Every voter is entitled to back continuity. But nobody should have to guess any more about what they are backing.

The alternative is a group with a four-year record that is a matter of public minutes: hundreds of questions on notice, dozens of motions, and the only councillors who have consistently voted to open closed decisions to scrutiny.

Ballot packs are in letterboxes now. Votes must reach the Electoral Commission by 2pm, Tuesday 27 October.

Andrew McCullagh is no longer a moderator of this page.