GINGIN BREACHES UNDERMINE LOCAL GOVERNANCE

Gingin councillors Jason Weeks, Lincoln Stewart and David Wilkie

GINGIN councillors Lincoln Stewart and Jason Weeks have been reported for breaching local government rules when they made comments at a court of disputed returns hearing covered exclusively by StreetWise.
StreetWise approached Cr Stewart who said after the shire met last night that he will fight the breach over a January 30, 2026 article published at www.streetwisemedia.com.au (‘Multiple 2025 Election Results Under Scrutiny’). Gingin is one of four local governments including Fremantle to challenge the elections in October.
The State Government-appointed local government inspector Tony Brown spoke to councillors before the shire meeting to explain his new role and challenges facing local government. Breaches were not discussed.
StreetWise Media understands up to 15 to 18 breaches have been issued against Gingin elected members including president Linda Balcombe.
Cr Stewart also delivered to the CEO yesterday a letter of demand for the shire to remove from its online registry a complaint against him on a different issue that was overturned last month by the SAT.
The State Administrative Tribunal found Cr Lincoln did not threaten Gingin staffer Phillip Barrett when they spoke on the telephone on 14 February 2024, “that the words were not intended to influence the employee; and so there was no breach of Rule 20”.
Mr Barrett complained to the local government standards panel in March and in December 2024 the panel ordered Cr Lincoln to apologise publicly to Mr Barrett.
On January 19, 2025, Cr Stewart applied to SAT to review the panel decision and order to apologise. It has taken more than a year for the panel decision to be overturned. Gingin still has the complaint posted online.
A motion by Cr Stewart in relation to legal representation for elected members was discussed as a confidential item and a decision deferred until next month.
Police charged Mr Balscombe with making serious threats and will appear in court in March. The charge carries a sentence of up to seven years imprisonment.
“Under our policy, elected members have a right to legal representation if they are required to lodge or defend violence restraining orders against a member of the public who is threatening us in our capacity as elected members,” he told StreetWise. I have applied for legal representation but council won’t approve it. Instead, they voted to defer it for a month.” Mr Balcombe appealed the VRO issued on the day of his arrest.
StreetWise cannot reveal details of the case except to say the longstanding saga has taken a heavy toll on elected members at Gingin including Cr Stewart who received the first threatening message in May last year when he alerted Cr Balcombe, who replied: “Oh dear that’s not good.”
The matter was not discussed at council until January this year.
“Every time I left my home/farm to attend council chambers or social events, I feared for the safety of my animals and what I would return home to.”

Minutes?

GINGIN shire refuses to release minutes and a recording of the annual electors meeting in which president Linda Balcombe shut down debate over whether she should stand down because of charges laid against her husband for threatening another councillor.
Cr Balcombe in a prepared statement told electors on February 3 she would not field questions about her husband’s charges and apologised to her family, community and the administration.
“And that was it,” Cr Stewart recalled having not been given the same opportunity to speak when he was the elected member who received the offensive messages.
“The thing is the minutes came out last week and there is no mention of the president’s statement. The CEO claims she made it in her private capacity not as an elected member.”
The minutes refer to electors’ questions about the charges against a member of the public regarding matters impacting one or more of the shire’s councillors, “any councillor having close associations with the person charged would be expected to excuse themselves from council until the court proceedings are finalised. Due to these recent events, how can the shire residents have confidence the decisions reached by council are unbiased, based on fair and even-handed consideration and are not influenced by outside interference and personal prejudice?”
Ms Lane said as reported by StreetWise on January 30: “The announcement indicates that council may not have been functioning cohesively and is in disarray and unable to act in the best interest of the community. Under these circumstances would it not be preferable to place the shire in administration, pending any outcomes of any investigations?”
Cr Balcombe replied: “That would be up to the department if they felt there was a need.”
Additional stories at www.streetwisemedia.com.au – Fremantle’s independent print and online publication.

* Tomorrow: The Death of Local Government in WA?