DR ROSS KERRIDGE WILL DONATE AIRPORT BOARD SALARY IF ELECTED

I am announcing today that as Lord Mayor I will donate the Lord Mayor’s director’s salary from the Newcastle Airport board.

In the interest of transparency and accountability to the community of Newcastle, the Lord Mayor’s $50,000 Airport Board Salary should either be donated to a suitable charity or folded back into the council’s public works budget, or a council run grant program. The Port Stephens Mayor already does this.

I’m determined to bring honesty, integrity and transparency back to Newcastle Council. I was unimpressed in 2019 when Lord Mayor Nelmes used her casting vote to appoint herself and the GM, Jeremy Bath to the board of Newcastle Airport, in the process collecting a substantial Directors fee. The elected council appoints the Lord Mayor to the board, and this action is in the best interest of the community of Newcastle to avoid any actual or perceived conflict of the elected council nominating the Lord Mayor to the board.

In order to restore some trust in the City of Newcastle, this is a straightforward and simple step. More importantly, it’s the right thing to do.