WHEATBELT SHIRE MISPLACES HAY, PRIME JARRAH & 1.5 MILLION LITRES OF WATER

EXCLUSIVE: TWO years ago, Gingin shire removed hundreds of jarrah floorboards at CU@Park Cafe even though only a handful of boards were damaged. The jarrah timbers worth up to $15,000 have never been recovered.
Also ‘missing’ approximately 1.5 million litres of water consumed by a shire staffer who resigned last month after having racked up a scary water and power bill while living at a council-owned property on Lefroy Street (pictured above).
And $500,000 for a footpath to nowhere in Lancelin.
The WA Local Government Inspector’s monitor Shayne Silcox will have his work cut out for him this week when he starts his monitorship at Gingin. At approximately $1000 a day, ratepayers deserve answers:

1. StreetWise can reveal timber floorboards removed from CU@Park Cafe in 2024 were supposed to be dumped in a skip bin and sent to a depot in Perth. Instead, they were driven to the Clackline property of executive manager operations and assets Vanessa Crispe (below), who resigned on April 8 that year.
Gingin shire concerned over, “moisture, drainage and water ingress”, closed CU@Park Cafe, “so that remedial works to the inside flooring and walls can be undertaken”.
The cost to replace the floorboards was $14,900. Most of the timbers were supposedly thrown away as they were, “significantly moisture damaged, affected by active termites and effectively unusable”.
However, a pest control contractor who assessed the termite damage found only a few floorboards were damaged. So what happened to the rest of the jarrah?
The contractor told StreetWise the remaining boards appeared in good condition but he was unable to inspect under the floor: “There wouldn’t have been more than 150sqm. The shire inspected it and found there was a lot of damp rising through the building. They decided to get an engineer in and replace the timber with concrete as a solution.”
He said he later visited the site during preparations for the concrete and met the driver who delivered the timber to Ms Crispe’s property in February: “I actually asked him, ‘Was there much damage underneath the floorboards?’. He said, ‘Nah, they looked pretty good. I took them out to Vanessa’s place’.” He added the floorboards could have been relaid over the concrete.
The CU@Park remedial building project was managed by CEO Aaron Cook, executive manager corporate and community services Les Crichton and Ms Crispe, who had worked previously in local government with Mr Cook.
The discarded floorboards were reportedly placed in a skip bin at the site, which is where the trail goes cold.
Staff at the shire also raised concerns over the location of a new mobile evaporative air-conditioning unit, large cleat roller and an old bearing press which had disappeared from the shire workshop. No action was taken.
CFMEU organiser Nathan Fisher raised the whistleblowers’ concerns in an email to then shire president Wayne Fewster, deputy Linda Balcombe and all elected members. When Mr Fisher received no response he lodged a WorkSafe complaint on behalf of the whistleblowers who resigned and claimed they were bullied and harassed after they started asking questions about the missing property.
Mr Cook investigated, but rather than providing evidence believed the whistleblowers had made allegations based on rumour and gossip potentially intended to intimidate and bully Ms Crispe even when the whistleblowers said Ms Crispe had the air-conditioner at her property to cool down her stables and that the cleat roller was located (and later returned) on the private property of the father-in-law of a former leading hand at the shire.
The air-conditioner has never been recovered. Ms Crispe also was accused of having directed staff to place hay and plants from council landscaping jobs into her shire vehicle to take home.
The roller also mysteriously disappeared from the shire assets list and then suddenly reappeared on the list after it was returned to the workshop.
On March 26, 2024, Cr Lincoln Stewart lodged a police complaint over the missing floorboards. He said he could not comment as to why his complaint was not followed up in 2024 but confirmed police were told by Mr Cook that he was not authorised to make the complaint alleging theft because he did not own the floorboards.
Cr Stewart maintained he was entitled to report suspected criminal conduct as a councillor and private citizen and said: “I knew this was wrong so I sought advice from the department.” The department advised: “You are absolutely allowed to report this to the police, and if you believe that the CEO is attempting to cover for Ms Crispe, then you are welcome to also report this to the CCC.”
It appears Ms Crispe tried to sell the timbers online, “Various lengths jarrah floor boards and jarrah planks”. StreetWise also understands Ms Crispe paid the shire a few hundred dollars in cash for the timbers after ratepayers continued to ask questions.
Any report of Mr Cook’s investigation has disappeared from the shire’s published agenda and minutes. They do not identify any officer’s report, confidential item, discussion or council resolution related to the investigation.
Mr Cook resigned on March 6, 2024, and followed a petition of no confidence calling for his removal.
StreetWise has reached out to Ms Crispe who worked at Toodyay shire until she left in April this year after questions were raised about payments totalling $7,507.05 to a creditor named Vanessa Wendy Crispe when she already was paid a salary.
Mr Cook was appointed interim CEO of RSPCA in March until June 1 this year and currently works as a local government consultant.

2. StreetWise can reveal that former executive manager corporate & community services Rachael Wright (opposite) resigned last month after she racked up a massive water and power bill while living at a shire-owned property on Lefroy Street. The three-bedroom house has no swimming pool or spa.
Like the missing floorboards, this administrative matter was handled by the CEO, Mr Cook having now been replaced by Scott Wildgoose who joined the shire in 2025 and resigned in May this year after a workplace incident involving sexual misconduct.
The water and power bill for November and December 2025 was $381.94 and $1268.55, respectively.
The next two-monthly water bill jumped to $4099.15 (January/February) and $4796.18 (March/April). The power bill for the same billing period was $857.43 then jumped to $1203.08, the shire having incurred a total of $10,955.84 in utilities.
A ratepayer who noticed the excessive water and power use wrote to the shire in May: “For comparison’s sake, the invoice for the water used at the Gingin aged units for the same period, where there are four units with five occupants and has a substantial back lawn area as well as front gardens, amounted to $846.37.”
She asked why the occupant did not notice any excess water running down the street or pooling on the surface including on lawns and garden and whether the property was occupied by the same person for the period billed.
On May 25, acting CEO James Bayliss (Mr Wildgoose was suspended in February) said it was the same person but would not disclose personal information of any employee including their place of residence.
He said, “a leak of that magnitude would ordinarily become apparent through water surfacing, visible pooling, wet or soggy lawn areas or runoff onto Lefroy Street. None of these circumstances have eventuated in this case. There has been no water runoff observed onto Lefroy Street, nor have there been any obvious visible signs of a leak detected on the property. Further, if water of that volume was being used from within the dwelling, it would reasonably be expected that there would be indicators present around the leach drain system. No such indicators have been identified in this case”.
The ratepayer also asked whether the water – equal to approximately  30 average-sized swimming pools or 60 water  trucks – had been stolen. Another resident told StreetWise that Ms Wright also remained in the chamber when the issue was raised at council.
“This is being investigated, however public commentary to this affect has naturally not been forthcoming as any covert investigation would be jeopardised,” Mr Bayliss stated. “I can assure you that the occupier is quite upset and embarrassed with the situation and is proactively assisting with identifying the cause. When the shire first became aware of the water bill (and subsequent water use) actions were taken to rectify. The second bill therefore came as a surprise and generated suspicion that the solenoid was not the actual cause.
“I am now awaiting the next bill with anxiety and looking at other properties under shire ownership to ensure they do not experience the same issue.” StreetWise understands the May/June bill to be about $2000 but it is difficult for ratepayers to tell as the address has now been deleted from the shire’s paid accounts. By the July council agenda, water and electricity expenditure linked to 37A Lefroy Street could no longer be tracked through public accounts.
Interestingly, a budget item on the shire’s supplementary attachments for July refer to $14,945 expended at 37A Lefroy Street, but no description except ‘building capital’.
As one ratepayer warned the shire, “the undetected, wasted water, when the town is verging on not having sufficient water reserves to supply households, is at the least negligent”.
WA Police have been asked to investigate the high water and electricity expenditure incurred by the shire and steps taken to resolve it.
Mr Bayliss has refused to refer the matter to police and told elected members that a faulty solenoid had been repaired yet water use remained extremely high.
StreetWise understands that Ms Wright lodged a workplace pyschosocial complaint because elected members and members of the public were asking questions.
President Balcombe has thanked Ms Wright for her contribution and wished her well in the next stage of her career: “Rachael has made a significant contribution to the Shire of Gingin during her time with us. While Rachael will be greatly missed, we are incredibly proud that she has been recognised for her leadership skills, wealth of knowledge and dedication.”
StreetWise has reached out to Ms Wright who still works at the shire but will take up her new role as CEO at the shire of Boddington on October 13: “Council undertook a thorough recruitment process to identify the right leader for the shire’s future.”
Her resignation brings to seven the number of shire employees including two CEOs and three whistleblowers who have resigned since the floorboards went missing in 2024.

3. StreetWise can reveal that $500,000 for a proposed footpath in Lancelin has disappeared from the shire books. The money was budgeted and allocated for as part of its long term financial plan for 2022. Now the shire says it never existed. And the figure could be up to $2.5 million in projects which never transpired.
Gingin ratepayers were surprised to learn at the annual general electors meeting in February this year that the shire had to find the money to build the planned footpath to Lancelin South, approximately 1km in length.
“If the ‘trigger for its installation’ is not yet reached, can council explain why this amount was included as an asset in the long term financial plan in 2022, as it appears they never ever existed as actual funds held by the shire?” Neergabby resident Kate Lane asked.
Lancelin resident Peter Murphy asked: “Could the Shire provide a guarantee the money is going to be spent?”
Mr Bayliss’s odd reply: “Staff involved in the long term financial planning and budget process in 2022 are no longer employed at the shire and as such no further comment can be provided.”
Retired Lancelin lawyer Mike Cram added: “In relation to Peter Murphy’s point, there have been several projects, approved for expenditure in Lancelin, that have never materialised.”
Budgeted at around $2.5 million, they include the $500,000 Lancelin South footpath, a $400,000 toilet block, $650,000 for the commercial centre road and landscaping works, $500,000 upgrade to Cunliffe Street precinct which was partially implemented and $320,000 commercial centre.
Additional stories by Fremantle’s independent news platform at www.streetwisemedia.com.au.