Nedlands council will remain in the hands of commissioners for longer than anticipated following the sacking of its mayor and elected councillors, after the election of a new council was delayed.

Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley has appointed three commissioners to run the council after last month sacking all of the elected councillors, including the mayor Fiona Argyle.

The move came after four councillors resigned within hours of each other, leaving the council without a quorum, with Ms Beazley describing the situation as an “embarrassing” saga of “dysfunction and disunity”.

How a Perth local government became pure box office

Four councillors resign, three commissioners to be appointed, and one explosive radio interview — it was some kind of week in the City of Nedlands.

The council was already under investigation by the Department of Local Government over claims of governance breaches, and Ms Beazley said that probe was expected to conclude in coming weeks.

Local government elections are slated to be held in October this year, but Ms Beazley said on Wednesday the Nedlands election would be rescheduled for March, to give the commissioners time to investigate the issues leading up to the sacking.

Former WA Planning Commission chair David Caddy, a former Nedlands deputy mayor, has been appointed chair of the council, assisted by commissioners Bianca Sandri and Cath Hart.

Three people dressed in corporate attire stand in front of a curtain

Cath Hart (left), David Caddy and Bianca Sandri have been appointed as Commissioners of the Nedlands council. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)

Mr Caddy said he and his fellow commissioners were “committed to bringing trust and integrity back into the governance system in the City of Nedlands.”

“We have a huge task ahead of us,” he said.

Mayor claims she was targeted

Mayor Fiona Argyle told the ABC she was not under investigation from the department and believed she had been targeted for political purposes.

“I was elected mayor two times by a popular vote of the community and have been rolled by the WA state government for doing my job,” she said.

A woman named Fiona Argyle smiling while wearing a white dress shaking hands with a bald man wearing glasses.

Fiona Argyle in June 2021, on the night she was sworn in as mayor of the City of Nedlands.  (Supplied: City of Nedlands)

Ms Argyle said this included “protecting Class A nature reserves from property developers.”

Nedlands mayor delivers extraordinary swipe after councillors resign

City of Nedlands Mayor Fiona Argyle launches an extraordinary broadside against some members of her council, on a day when four of them resigned.

The City of Nedlands has been under scrutiny over its opposition to a proposed park for terminally ill children and their families next to WA’s first children’s hospice.

The park was to be built on a class-A reserve, set aside for high conservation areas, but the land had significantly deteriorated over years.

Council argued it wanted to develop the site itself, but the state’s planning minister stepped in and took control of the land.

One of the councillors who resigned last month cited the hospice park issue as one of the main reasons for quitting.

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