MEMBER for Mordialloc, Tim Richardson has, for the first time, been elevated to state cabinet under new Premier Ben Carroll, and been allocated the portfolio of Minister for Local Government.
Richardson, who lives in Chelsea, will now assume responsibility for the effective running of local governments across the state including the problem-plagued City of Kingston council.
State government-appointed monitors overseeing Kingston Council have been in place since 2025, with their term initially planned to finish on 31 December 2025, before being extended.
Then, in a decision that blindsided some at Kingston Council, their term was extended for a second time. A media release issued by council at 1pm on 30 June read that the municipal monitors were “finalising work at Kingston”, only for an updated media release to be issued hours later confirming that they were set to stay (Kingston Council monitors set to stay, The News 7/7/26).
The monitors’ term is now scheduled to end on 14 August, allowing them to remain at council until the finalisation of the results for the Melaleuca Ward by-election.
The two monitors are paid for by Kingston ratepayers at a cost of more than $1000 a day.
The decision to re-appoint the monitors sparked a flurry of activity on social media. Deputy mayor Sarah O’Donnell posted “I wish I had a clear answer but I don’t! Zero clarity and as an elected councillor representing the City of Kingston I have not received any information informing me as to why this has happened. I will keep you informed as I can.
“My absolute apologies to all Kingston residents, you deserve better, we all do. The VEC are responsible for the by-election, not monitors!”
A further challenge for Richardson in his new role is the discovery of “administrative errors” in invoices submitted by one of the monitors, John Tanner.
Kingston Council has announced it will refer invoices submitted by the state government-appointed municipal monitors for independent auditing, with a referral to the Local Government Inspectorate and Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission to follow (Councillors refer monitors for audit, The News 5/8/26).
The mayor Georgina Oxley supported the proposal to refer the matter for assessment by the independent Audit and Risk Committee. She said “we as a council are simply stating that we are concerned, we ask that there be action taken, and I know that those investigations are occurring at the moment into what’s occurred.”
“We don’t have the full picture, but what’s important is that we get it, and if money does need to be paid back that it’s paid back with interest depending on how long that’s been occurring for,” the mayor said.
Before Richardson was given the role of Minister for Local Government, MP for Box Hill Paul Hamer had held the portfolio since April 2026.
Richardson has also been allocated the portfolios of Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister for Renters.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 12 August 2026
