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Northern Beaches councillors racked up almost $200,000 in expenses last year, while the council spent $150,000 sending staff to conferences across Australia.
After spending $31,866 in nine months, Greens councillor Ethan Hrnjak said, “I don’t shy away from saying I’m definitely the poorest person on the council” when asked why his expenses were more than double the average of other councillors.
Northern Beaches councillor Ethan Hrnjak.Credit: Louie Douvis
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the privilege of being able to forgo expenses costing me out of pocket, so that’s why I was encouraged to make use of our councillor expenses,” said Hrnjak, who spent $10,000 towards a six-week intensive program at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
In January, the council requested a controversial 39.6 per cent rate hike over three years, which drew backlash from residents and businesses.
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) partially approved that application, meaning ratepayers face a jump of 25 per cent over two years.
The council’s income in the 2023-24 financial year was $442 million, with revenue from rates and annual charges representing half that amount.
Fifteen Northern Beaches councillors spent a total of $193,694 in the last financial year, or an average of $12,339 each, council papers from Tuesday’s meeting reveal.
Mayor Sue Heins spent $13,024 in the last year, and independent councillor Joeline Hackman’s expenses were the second-highest overall, at $24,087.
The council also spent $101,561 sending staff to conferences and forums in NSW, and another $52,096 for 37 staff to attend interstate conferences.
Hrnjak, who is studying law at Macquarie University, was elected for the first time at last year’s local government elections.
The bulk of his expenses since taking office in October went towards reimbursing travel costs, and professional development courses – one of which was for speed reading. Hrnjak also spent $7393 on attending conferences and seminars.
“One of the things I heard a lot when I got elected was that I’m young and unqualified, and I had no right to be there,” he said.
“So one of the things I’ve tried to do is to stick my hand up for a lot of professional development and training, to show people that I do have governance qualifications to be on council.”
Hrnjak maintains that all his expenses are in line with the policy the council adopted at its December meeting, which outlines spending caps on council vehicles, seminars, meals, training, office equipment and technology allowances.
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Councillor Vincent De Luca said that with residents facing a 25.2 per cent special rate increase as well as a 3.8 per cent pegged increase, elected representatives “need to be tightening our belts and showing restraint”.
“The fact Greens councillor Ethan Hrnjak and teal councillor Joeline Hackman have spent nearly double the amount in nine months of being councillors compared to those of us that served in the previous term and were re-elected is concerning,” he said.
Northern Beaches Council said expenses were accounted for in the budget, and leftover funds were treated as surplus.
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