THE Holiday Van Consultative Committee will be re-established.

Following Councillor Giacomo Arnott’s Notice of Motion at the recent Council meeting on 25 October, the Holiday Van Consultative Committee will be re-established after Council’s sudden shut down of the committee.

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Cr Arnott said the Committee was shut down by Council staff with no consultation of warning with or to Committee Members or holiday van owners.

“Holiday van owners want the Committee to continue as it provides important information to holiday van owners and gives Council an opportunity to hear concerns from owners in a structured, regular forum,” Cr Arnott said.

Zoe Pattison, Council Acting Group Manager for Corporate Services, said the Committee was founded in April 2014 with the purpose of providing a forum for open discussion and to act as an information channel between holiday van owners and park management.

“To ensure current practices are effective and in the spirit of continuous improvement, Council staff reviewed a number of options and decided, in line with legislation and the Terms of Reference, to disband the current Committee,” Ms Pattison said.

“These days we have a dedicated holiday van administration officer, who has good relationships with members of the broader holiday van community, not just the previous Committee representatives.

“As such, we are finding the holiday van owners come directly to staff if they have an issue to discuss rather than seeking advice from their previous Committee representative.”

Ms Pattison says the disbandment of the Holiday Van Consultative Committee is not a reflection of a reduction in the level of consultation and instead, the Council is trying a more holistic and effective model in response to current circumstances.

Cr Arnott’s Notice of Motion was supported by Crs Leah Anderson, Giacomo Arnott, Peter Kafer and Jason Wells.

Those against the Motion included Mayor Ryan Palmer and Crs Matthew Bailey and Steve Tucker.

The Motion was carried, requesting the General Manager to take whatever action is necessary to reverse the decision to shut down the Committee.

By Tara CAMPBELL