Liverpool City Council’s draft budget and operational plan will go to public exhibition after a chaotic meeting that saw two councillors expelled, others leave the chamber, and several community-backed notices of motion fail to proceed.
Liverpool City Council’s Monday night meeting began with a packed public forum and a long list of budget, planning, community and governance items.
It ended with a depleted chamber, two councillors expelled, several others absent, and unresolved questions about how Council will manage the fallout from one of the most disorderly meetings of the term.
The central business of the night was Council’s financial position.
Councillors first dealt with CORP 03, a report on internally restricted cash reserves, before moving to CORP 05, the late addendum item covering the draft 2026-27 Budget, Revenue Pricing Policy, Fees and Charges, and Long-Term Financial Plan.
But before the formal meeting opened, residents and community representatives used public forum to raise concerns across several major items on the night’s agenda.
Public forum sets the tone
The public forum opened with Susie Kneipp speaking on PD 02, the proposed amendments to the Liverpool Development Control Plan. She raised concerns about 27-37 Grove Street, Casula, land listed on the planning portal as Gimes Park, saying residents had previously understood the land would be restored and retained as public space rather than being rezoned.
Ms Kneipp said the site remained an SP2 water catchment area and argued it continued to serve that purpose. She raised concerns about flooding, the M5 expansion, the loss of local open space, and the poor condition of the site, saying residents had been waiting since earlier assurances in 2024 for the park to be restored and maintained.
Eric North, president of RAID Moorebank and a Local Pulse contributor, then spoke against part of CORP 03. He opposed moving the Moorebank Intermodal ex-gratia payments reserve into unrestricted funds, arguing the money should remain available for direct action on impacts from the Moorebank Intermodal precinct.
Mr North said the reserve related to long-running concerns about the intermodal development and argued that the remaining funds should be retained for legal or compliance action, not absorbed into general revenue.
David Dalrymple spoke in support of NOM 05, calling for the reinstatement of the name Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. He said the issue was about identity, process, transparency and respect for the community, not simply branding.
Mr Dalrymple said 572 petition signatures had been collected in support of keeping the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre name. He argued that the name still had strong public recognition and questioned whether Council had evidence that the rebrand would deliver better tourism, engagement or cultural outcomes.
Andrea Miller and Nancy Odakshi, from the Mobilise and Dental Foundation, addressed Council on NOM 04, the proposed reinstatement of the Liverpool Councillors Charity Black-Tie Ball. They asked that the foundation be considered as a beneficiary charity partner for a future fundraising event.
They told councillors their work in Liverpool schools had identified significant unmet need in eye care and dental care, including students needing glasses, eye therapy, dental support and referrals. They argued that funds raised through a future civic charity event could support practical health services for children and families across the Liverpool area.
Grant Semmens and Mel Roach then spoke for the Moorebank Rams Junior Rugby League Club on COM 03, Council’s grants, donations and sponsorship report. They said the club had served the community since 1976 and now had more than 500 registered players across Moorebank, Holsworthy, Hammondville, Wattle Grove and surrounding suburbs.
They said the club had experienced strong growth, including increasing female participation, but that facilities at Hammondville Oval had not kept pace. They called for modern accessible amenities, gender-appropriate change rooms, storage, operational facilities and safer public areas, linking the request to the long-standing vision for the Hammondville Leisure Precinct.
The final public forum speaker was Darren Jewell, director of Jewell Technical Solutions and a Local Pulse contributor, who spoke in support of NOM 03, the Community Feedback Survey. Mr Jewell said he had designed the survey and authored the report in a professional capacity through Jewell Technical Solutions, with the survey run in conjunction with 2GLF Community Radio and Local Pulse Press.
He acknowledged the survey was self-selected and not a formal statistically weighted consultation, but said it was based on 420 usable, consented, complete and non-duplicate responses. He argued that Council should engage seriously with the feedback rather than dismiss it because it came from outside Council’s own processes.
The public forum closed at 6:09pm.
Restricted reserves debate
The first major financial debate came on CORP 03, the review of internally restricted cash reserves.
Council considered whether to move several internally restricted reserves into general funds as part of a broader effort to rebuild unrestricted cash reserves.
The most contentious reserves were the Hammondville Pool and Precinct Reserve and the Moorebank Intermodal ex-gratia payments reserve.
The debate reflected several issues raised in public forum. The Moorebank Intermodal reserve was contested because of concerns about whether money linked to impacts from the intermodal precinct should remain available for that purpose. The Hammondville reserve was contested because community representatives had called for investment in Hammondville Oval and linked the need for upgrades to the broader precinct vision.
During debate, some councillors argued the Hammondville reserve should stay tied to the precinct because the money was connected to the sale of local land and community expectations for reinvestment in the area. Others argued there was no detailed, current, costed plan for a Hammondville pool and precinct project, and that funds should not sit restricted indefinitely while Council faced broader financial pressure.
The final position appeared to protect the Moorebank Intermodal reserve from being moved into general funds, while allowing the Hammondville Pool and Precinct Reserve to be unrestricted.
Budget amendment becomes flashpoint
The meeting then moved to CORP 05, the main budget item.
The flashpoint came during debate on an amendment to the draft budget motion, not during debate on the original motion itself.
Councillor Zeli Munjiza moved an amendment that would return to the 12 May draft budget position with changes including $675,000 for parks service provision during peak periods and $400,000 for the Ernie Smith Reserve upgrade. The proposed offset was a reduction to the events budget line, taking that line to just over $2 million.
Council staff and councillors then discussed what that would mean for Liverpool’s events program. Staff indicated that one modelled option would retain hallmark events such as New Year’s Eve, Australia Day and Christmas, while removing several cultural festivals. The festivals named in the discussion included Eurofest, Primavera, Pacifica, Most Blessed Nights, Motherland, and Lights and Lanterns.
Cr Munjiza argued she was not against festivals, but wanted community events that brought people together while also responding to residents’ concerns about parks, mowing and basic services.
As the amendment was debated, Councillor Sam Karnib objected to how it was being characterised. He accused Mayor Ned Mannoun of attempting to “hijack the motion” and “con the public” by framing the amendment as cutting festivals.
Mayor Mannoun asked Cr Karnib to withdraw and apologise for comments he considered derogatory. Cr Karnib refused. The Mayor then expelled him from the meeting under the Code of Meeting Practice.
Recess incident and second ejection
During a recess, tensions escalated further.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Councillor Richard Ammoun made a personal remark about Cr Karnib’s late father, Ali Karnib, a former Liverpool councillor, and that a security guard intervened.
When the meeting resumed, Councillor Ethan Monaghan demanded that Cr Ammoun’s comment be dealt with in the chamber. He sought to place what he called the “disgusting remark” on the public record.
Mayor Mannoun ruled that Cr Monaghan did not have the call. The exchange quickly escalated, with Cr Monaghan criticising the conduct of the meeting and asking the Mayor to observe the Code of Meeting Practice.
The Mayor asked Cr Monaghan to withdraw and apologise. When he did not do so, Cr Monaghan was also expelled from the meeting until an apology was given.
The sequence is important: Cr Karnib was expelled during debate on the budget amendment; the recess incident involving Cr Ammoun occurred during the break; and Cr Monaghan was expelled after the meeting resumed, following his attempt to have Cr Ammoun’s comment addressed in the chamber.
Ristevski calls for adjournment
Councillor Peter Ristevski then urged that the meeting be adjourned.
He said he had known Ali Karnib, described him as an honourable man, and said it was unfair to continue debating the budget after what had happened. He told the chamber he was “appalled” and “disgusted”, and said he did not want to remain in the room if doing so meant condoning the behaviour.
Cr Ristevski asked that the meeting be adjourned to another night, saying critical councillors had left and that the budget was too important to continue in those circumstances.
He then left the chamber.
A further outburst involving Deputy Mayor Peter Harle occurred around the time of Cr Ristevski’s departure, although it appeared to be part of an exchange between councillors rather than directed at the public gallery.
The meeting continued with six councillors present.
Amendment lost, budget proceeds
After the departures, debate returned to Cr Munjiza’s amendment.
Councillor Fiona Macnaught asked what would happen if the mover and seconder of the amendment had retired from the meeting. The Mayor said the amendment was still “on the books”, and the amendment was then put to a vote and lost.
Council then returned to the main budget motion.
During the remaining debate, a proposed $1 yellow bin initiative was removed from the draft Fees and Charges material and referred for further consideration through a Governance Committee process.
The budget motion was ultimately carried, meaning the draft 2026-27 budget documents, fees and charges, and long-term financial plan will proceed to public exhibition.
Council also carried CEO 02, placing the draft Delivery Program 2025-2029 and Operational Plan 2026-2027 on public exhibition.
Other items continue, but notices fail to proceed
Several other items proceeded with the reduced chamber.
PD 01, dealing with proposed amendments to Council’s Planning Agreements Policy, was carried unanimously. PD 02, dealing with proposed amendments to the Liverpool Development Control Plan 2008, was also carried with a change requiring the matter to return to Council after public exhibition.
But the earlier departures had consequences.
When the meeting later reached Cr Ristevski’s notices of motion, the Mayor noted that Cr Ristevski was no longer present.
The remaining notices included motions on outdoor staff vacancies and the Grass and City Presentation Policy, temporary workforce flexibility and fuel cost relief, the Community Feedback Survey, reinstatement of the Liverpool Councillors Charity Black-Tie Ball, and reinstatement of the name “Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre”.
Those items had all been connected, directly or indirectly, to issues raised during public forum: service levels, resident feedback, charity fundraising, community health, and the Casula Powerhouse identity.
An attempt to defer the remaining notices was put and lost, leaving them not dealt with on the night.
That meant residents who had spoken or followed the meeting in relation to those motions saw them fall away without the full debate many had expected.
Ammoun apology
Near the end of the meeting, Cr Ammoun apologised to staff, councillors and members of the gallery who remained, saying he had “lost my way during the meeting”.
He said certain things had aggravated him, particularly what he described as people not respecting others while they were in the room.
Mayor Mannoun responded by saying that if Cr Ammoun was referring to what occurred during the recess, he had no ability to provide instruction, guidance or direction because, in his view, recesses were not covered by the Code of Meeting Practice.
The meeting closed shortly after, with the Mayor saying two remaining matters could not proceed because councillors leaving the chamber due to declared interests would leave no quorum.
Public exhibition now begins
For residents, the immediate outcome is that Council’s draft budget, fees and charges, operational plan and long-term financial plan will now go to public exhibition.
That process will give the community a formal opportunity to respond to Council’s proposed financial direction, including rates, fees, service levels, capital works and longer-term budget assumptions.
But Monday night’s meeting has also left a larger political issue.
Public forum speakers had come to Council seeking answers on local parks, intermodal impacts, cultural identity, charity fundraising, children’s health services, sporting infrastructure and community feedback.
By the end of the night, some of those issues had been debated and others had fallen away without the full consideration expected.
At a time when Council is asking residents to engage with its budget, service priorities and long-term financial direction, the chamber itself struggled to maintain order through one of the most significant decisions of the year.
The result is that the budget papers will go out for community comment, but the conduct of the meeting may now draw almost as much attention as the documents themselves.
Disclosure: Eric North and Darren Jewell are contributors to Local Pulse. Mr North is also president of RAID Moorebank. Mr Jewell spoke during public forum on the Community Feedback Survey in his professional capacity as director of Jewell Technical Solutions.
