A former mayor has demanded an apology for recent comments directed at Wagga City Council over the issuing of eviction notices to the homeless at Wilks Park.
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This week, the council, the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) and Wagga-based Nationals MLC Wes Fang were involved in a disagreement over actions taken to evict those sleeping rough at the park.
Mr Fang claimed the government was given no warning about an eviction letter, issued to people exceeding the site's 72-hour limit, and was not engaging in discussions with the council at all.
Wilks Park coverage:
"I have been assured by the minister's office that there was no prior warning [about the eviction letter]," Mr Fang said on Tuesday.
"I asked ... exactly who it was that [council] were speaking with, so I could seek independent verification and they refused to give me any names."
However, on Wednesday, the DCJ's deputy secretary of housing, disability and district services James Toomey said the department had in fact been privy to the council's plans.
"We were aware of, and engaged with the conversations of, the issuing of that notice, so yes we did know," he said at the time.
Now, former Wagga mayor Rod Kendall has called for those involved to apologise to the council and its staff.
"I'm calling for Wes Fang, and the minister that he referred to in The Daily Advertiser article [on Wednesday], that they apologise to Wagga City Council, and in particular its staff, for their false claim that DCJ had no knowledge of the fact that those orders were going to be issued at Wilks Park," he said.
Cr Kendall said Mr Fang's comments in particular were hurtful to council staff who have been working hard behind the scenes on this issue.
"They basically said that council had lied to the community, that council staff had lied to the community ... it's a pretty strong thing to do," he said.
Mr Fang was unmoved by Cr Kendall's demands.
While he did concede that he received some incorrect information, and that the DCJ did have a representative involved in discussions, he stood by his claims the issue was poorly handled by the council.
Mr Fang said his comments were made with the information he had to hand and he tried to confirm details with Wagga general manager Peter Thompson, but was refused.
"I was categorically told we didn't, it turns out we did," he said.
"Whilst I accept that the deputy secretary has clarified the issue, what I can say is that since they issued the notice, the council made no attempt to engage with me, the minister's office or even senior DCJ staff.
"They attempted to wage a propaganda war via the media, instead of resolving the issue. I'm not in the habit of answering to demands of councillors who should know better, and should have done a lot better on the issue.
"This was a failure of council, and they were caught out."
Minister for Families and Communities Natasha Maclaren-Jones, who is responsible for the DCJ, said she was "focused on ensuring that everything is being done to help anyone who doesn't have a safe place to call home".
Cr Kendall said while it is time to move on and concentrate on the issue at hand, it will be hard to do so unless an apology is forthcoming.
"An apology is an integral part of moving on. How else do we, as an elected council and staff of an elected council, have a working relationship with Wes and the minister, unless they acknowledge the error," he said.
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