In June last year, council adopted a company constitution for the airport that included a provision for between five and seven directors to sit on the board, of which up to three would be councillors.
In a move that had drawn the ire of some councillors, the draft constitution provided for those three councillors to be paid directors’ fees of $7000 each in addition to their standard remuneration.
However, following the submission of the airport’s draft constitution to the NSW Department of Local Government, minister Paul Lynch has written to council stating the department had no objection to the creation of Griffith Airport Pty Ltd, providing councillors were not paid the directors’ fee.
Council general manager Peter Brooks said the reason why it proposed councillors sitting on the airport’s board be paid was because the airport would become a company, rather than the standard council committee.
“In the draft constitution we put forward to the department the council staff were not to be paid and the councillors were to be paid a directors’ allowance,” Mr Brooks said.
“Now the minister has approved it subject to no council staff or councillors being paid.
“The reason they put is that it minimises the risks if councillors aren’t being paid, and all I can read into that is if they’re paid a directors’ fee then obviously the risk of them being sued as directors is greater.”
Councillor Pat Pittavino described the idea of councillors being paid for sitting on the board as “morally outrageous”, saying it threatened to create a dangerous precedent.
“I can only speak for myself, but I think morally no councillor should be paid for things like this,” Mr Pittavino said.
“I mean, councillors get elected by the public to do their bit anyway, so if you’re going to start paying three councillors to sit on the airport board, where do you stop?
“Should I get $7000 for being on the cemetery committee, $7000 for the sewerage and waste water committee and $7000 for the tip committee?” Mr Pittaviono said.
The chairman of council’s airport management committee, mayor Dino Zappacosta, said he considered it only appropriate the airport board operate under the same conditions as any other committee of council.
“I was surprised initially that councillors were going to be paid that sort of money, I don’t think the workload is expected to be any greater than on other advisory or management committees,” Cr Zappacosta said.
“Because council will have the sole shareholding entity in the corporation – there will not be any outside shareholders in it – I think it’s only appropriate that the councillors sitting on that corporation’s board do so as they would on any other committee of council.”
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