Ipswich City Council’s new chief executive officer has twice worked as the chief executive after a council was sacked; first in Wollongong in 2008 and now in Ipswich.
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David Farmer on Monday began his career as Ipswich’s senior civil servant, the city’s new CEO.
He worked for 11 years as CEO of Wollongong City Council until January 2019.
Before Wollongong, Mr Farmer was CEO of Cairns City Council for more than six years, from October 2000 until May 2007.
Ipswich City Council has recruited for a full-time CEO after two previous long-serving chief executives were charged by the Crime and Corruption Commission with official corruption from September 2017.
Mr Farmer said Wollongong City Council was dismissed in 2008 after a public meeting.
He said the incoming Wollongong council after 2008 had to work to restore confidence from the community.
“There are definitely some similarities in Ipswich, most importantly the need to restore public confidence and trust,” Mr Farmer said.
“I wanted a role where I could bring my skills to bear on something significant.
“The combination of governance and growth issues in Ipswich present that challenge.
“The success of Ipswich City Council over the next few years is critical to the development of South East Queensland and also to the perception of local government to the Queensland public.”
Mr Farmer said that in both Cairns and Wollongong he had worked on significant projects to restore identity to the cities.
He began work at Wollongong just months after ICAC investigators raided the Wollongong Council offices.
“If I am to look back at my 11 years at Wollongong, there are some key projects I’m particularly proud of,” he said.
“The Blue Mile, a city foreshore project similar to the Cairns Esplanade — which I also worked on — and Grand Pacific Walk are two of them,” he said.
“But the last three community surveys show satisfaction at all-time highs, which is exactly where we want to head in Ipswich with a measured approach which leads to best-practice outcomes.”
The state government dismissed Ipswich City Council in August 2018 after serious corruption issues emerged.
One of the city’s previous chief executives, Jim Lindsay, was charged with corruption in September 2017 connected to a development application.
In January 2018, Mr Lindsay formally resigned from Ipswich City Council.
In December 2018, the council’s previous chief executive officer, Carl Wulff, pleaded guilty to receiving corrupt payments.
Mr Wulff will be sentenced on February 15.
