Published on Thursday, 2 April 2026 at 11:11:51 AM
Council were well‑prepared for the busy March Council Meeting, thanks to weeks of briefings and the public Agenda Briefing beforehand – and powered through a hefty 23 decisions! We’ve picked out highlights to share with you here:
- Council once again supported the Esperance & Districts Agricultural Society’s delivery of the Esperance Show by waiving 2026 venue hire fees and associated costs, in exchange for a Diamond level sponsorship. The waived fees and costs are expected to be valued at around $35,000–$40,000.
- The H+H Architects Design Review Report for the James Street Cultural Precinct was accepted by Council, read more on this in our Latest News story.
- Following discussions with Main Roads WA and CBH, Council approved the request from Main Roads to hand over approximately 1.15 hectares from a Reserve at Shark Lake to allow construction of a Heavy Vehicle Parking Bay on the Coolgardie‑Esperance Highway. This will become part of a new Reserve managed by Main Roads WA. The project is fully funded by Main Roads WA and addresses a recognised need for heavy vehicle parking in the area.
- A review of policies from the Asset Management directorate was endorsed by Council, along with four policies whose reviews were delayed for further discussions, and in order to allow WALGA to provide comments.
- Council adopted the updated Code of Conduct for Council Members, Committee Members and Candidates, altered to include reference to the Inspector and Monitor processes. The update comes after changes were made to the Model Code of Conduct Regulations following reforms to the Local Government Act 1995.
- Four lease‑related items were considered by Council, including endorsement of a lease request from Geoscience Australia to support a Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN) GPS Reference Station at Esperance Airport. This joint Australian and New Zealand Government initiative will deliver accurate, secure and sovereign satellite positioning services, reducing reliance on foreign Global Navigation Satellite System correction services, and Council are pleased to do their part. Council also supported arrangements for St John Ambulance to lease its portion of the Condingup co‑located facility once changes are made to the underlying Reserve, with a Memorandum of Understanding to apply in the interim. In addition, two Market Village leases were progressed - an update to an existing lease value and the award of a new lease.
- The major review of the Council Plan 2025 -2026 was adopted. This was informed by the 2025 Community Scorecard and workshops open to the Community. This provides Council and Shire staff direct instructions from the community about key priorities and projects.
- Council adopted the 2025/2026 Budget Review, which assessed the impact of real-world events on the 2025/2026 Budget. The original budget commenced with a $44,437 deficit. Subsequent budget amendments have resulted in a slightly larger deficit of $85,567; an encouraging result considering Financial Assistance Grant funding came in around $440k lower than expected, and increasing expenses across employee costs and the rural roads maintenance program.
- Council provided formal feedback to WALGA on proposed electoral reforms on behalf of the community, after Councillor workshops and discussion. Retention of half‑spill elections every two years for continuity and stability, endorsed voluntary voting (with compulsory voting only if four year full‑spill elections are introduced), and simpler voting methods such as online options to increase participation were advocated for.
- Council approved the Esperance Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) three‑year corporate sponsorship proposal, after the matter was deferred at the February Meeting due to a lack of quorum. The sponsorship will support ECCI services, business owner engagement and the 2026 and 2028 Converge Conferences. Council also requested annual reporting to outline what progress is achieved.
- An Item regarding the advertising of all unsold lots in Flinders Estate Stage 4 for sale by Tender was moved behind closed doors, as it as it related to legal advice or other information over which the local government holds legal professional privilege. Council directed that all unsold lots be advertised for sale by tender, and delegated authority to the CEO to negotiate and accept offers.
- Two late Items were also considered behind closed doors, as they related to information contained in a tender received by the local government for a contract to the extent that the information is a tendered price. As a result of these, Council awarded the Tenders for solar and battery system installation, and supply and delivery of dredge booster pumps.
Every Ordinary Council Meeting is live streamed on the Shire YouTube channel, with the recordings available thereafter. The Minutes of the March Council Meeting, including a table explaining movements in the Budget, may be found on our website here.
Back to All News