ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-09-14 · by Keane Bourke and Samantha Goerling
Tony Brown, Western Australia’s Local Government Inspector, has initiated an inquiry into the City of Perth due to reported “fractured working relationships and ongoing governance issues.” The investigation is expected to last three months and cost approximately $120,000. This follows a previous ABC report that revealed a crisis in the relationship between the council and its management, leading to Mr. Brown’s appointment of Carol Adams as a monitor to oversee necessary reforms.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In short:
Western Australia's Local Government Inspector has launched another inquiry into the City of Perth.
asserted
Inspector → launch → Perth
Tony Brown says there are "fractured working relationships and ongoing governance issues" at the city.
What's next?
The inquiry is expected to last three months and its findings will be made public.
Dysfunction at the City of Perth is set to be investigated further, with the local government watchdog launching an inquiry into the problem-plagued council.
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watchdog → say → council
Local Government Inspector Tony Brown said the inquiry would yield the "best result" for residents and ratepayers, adding that it would would take about three months and cost about $120,000.
"There are fractured working relationships and ongoing governance issues at the city,"Mr Brown said.
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Brown → say → 120,000
"So this is not a two-year process that happened before that cost $7.2 million.
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that → happen → million
This will be a short and effective way of providing a good outcome for the City of Perth community."
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This → provide → community
Mr Brown's office said it had received 25 complaints involving elected members since the start of this year.
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it → say → year
Action needed
In January, the ABC revealed a damning report that found the relationship between council and management was in "crisis".
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relationship → need → crisis
That report followed Mr Brown's appointment of former Kwinana mayor Carol Adams as a monitor to oversee the council and encourage "greater accountability and appropriate decision-making".
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report → follow → accountability
Mr Brown said he had presented the city with the monitor's findings, as well as 12 actions that "focus on the council working together better and their governance processes".
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council → say → findings
He did not elaborate on the actions, or the monitor's findings.
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He → elaborate → actions
Working together
The inquiry would be the first held by the inspector under a new regime that places councils under significantly more scrutiny than in the past.
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that → work → past
The final report of that inquiry can recommend the council, or individual members, be suspended or dismissed, but it would be up to the local government minister to make that decision.
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it → recommend → decision
Mr Brown said the council had advised him it would work cooperatively with investigators.
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it → say → investigators
"The City of Perth is the flagship local government of Western Australia, so it needs to be the leader in governance," he said.
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he → need → governance
"I don't think it's there at the moment, so we're going to work through that and we want the city to be able to return to providing good governance for its community
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city → think → community
In a statement, Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds said he welcomed the inquiry and had always supported independent oversight.
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he → say → oversight
"Importantly, the Inspector noted the council has the inherent institutional capacity to perform effectively.
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council → note → capacity
That is an important foundation to build upon," he wrote.
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he → build → ?
"We welcome the inquiry as an opportunity for the matters raised to be independently examined, the facts to be established and, where required, clear pathways for action and improvement to be identified."
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pathways → welcome → action
Mr Reynolds said the council's focus remained on "delivering for the people, businesses and visitors who rely on the city every day" and that he believed it would emerge stronger from the process.
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it → say → process
'Conflict spiral'
Problems began emerging in late November, when the City of Perth's acting CEO resigned after labelling an attempt by Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds to order a workplace culture review unlawful.
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CEO → emerge → review
Mr Reynolds later backed down on those plans and announced he would ask the inspector to review the city's culture.
Less than two months later, the leaked report made 18 recommendations, which the mayor said he supported.
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he → back → which
The report found relations between the CEO and Lord Mayor were in a "conflict spiral", which required "immediate intervention".
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which → find → intervention
Mr Reynolds said at the time the council could "absolutely" get its house in order.
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house → say → order
Historical problems
The City of Perth has run into problems before.
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City → run → problems
In 2018, the entire council was stood down after years of scandal and infighting.
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council → stand → scandal
A later inquiry found the city's culture had become dominated by self-interest, complacency and a lack of accountability and transparency.
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culture → find → accountability
The report that was leaked in January found "concerning parallels" with the situation at the time and the 2018 collapse of the council.
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that → leak → council
