Fuel to the Fire

ALEX Gillan a former resident of Merriwa has been battling Council over a water bill which continued to be charged after his house had been burnt down, which investigators say was deliberately lit.

See details of the house fire below.

Mr Gillan said he was charged $403.03 for water rates for the whole billing period, but since his house burnt down on February 9, it represented usage for only 21 days and disputed the bill.

The matter was on the agenda at last nights Council meeting and Mr Gillan had requested in an email to Council that it not be held in closed meeting, but it was.

Mr Gillan said he was happy for the matter to be addressed in open Council and questions Council’s motivation for closing the item to the public.

“I don’t mind if people know what the amount of the water bill was and I wanted it to be open and transparent as to why Council made their decision and who voted what way,” said Mr Gillan.

The matter was first before Council at the August meeting and councillors Lee Watts and James Burns declared a conflict of interest as they had run for Council with Liam Garment, who lives with Mr Gillan.

Mr Gillan wrote in an email to Council that he believed councillors Kiwa Fisher and Ron Campbell also had a conflict of interest because they actively campaigned against Liam during the same campaign and should also refrain from voting on the matter.

However at last night’s meeting only Cr Watts left the room for the agenda item and Cr Burns was absent.

“The discussion should have been held in open meeting, why should they have that discussion and make that decision in secrecy, I have nothing to hide,” said Mr Gillan.

Initially the bill was waived by Council staff at the Merriwa office who agreed there were special circumstances with the fire.

However, Council then insisted he pay the bill and said while Council staff could reduce the bill they were not permitted to waive it and it would have to go before Council.

Mr Gillan said he had an outstanding water bill, which he didn’t dispute and had made arrangements with Merriwa staff to pay.

He also enquired how much it would cost to have the water metre removed and while he said he was never told the cost of the removal Council waived the removal fee.

“I never asked for the water metre to be removed for free, I just wanted the last water bill to be fair and Council have not done the right thing by not being open about how and why they made the decision to deal with this in secret, it should be open for me and anyone else to see,” Alex Gillan said.

Mr Gillan is yet to be advised of the decision made by Council at last night’s meeting.

Background on House Fire:

Mr Gillan’s house, which he shared with Liam Garment, in Quigley Street, Merriwa was burnt down at 1:30am on February 9 this year.

A Fire Forensics report suggested the fire was deliberately lit.

The most probable cause of the fire was the perpetrator broke a bedroom window, put petrol into the room and then set it alight.

The report which was compiled for an insurance company also states the matter was referred to police when evidence pointed to the fire being deliberately lit and “given the time of the incident in the early hours of the morning and the presence of two sleeping occupants, I consider that there was a significant risk to life.”

Police said they are still conducting an investigation but would not provide further information on any progress and would not confirm if the matter was being treated as attempted murder.

Police have previously confirmed they were aware of allegations of drug use at the Merriwa Youth Centre and were “conducting enquiries,” but did not confirm what prompted the enquiry or if it related to the fire investigation.

Alex Gillan said he was not surprised by the Fire Forensics report and confirmed they had been to police prior to the fire to discuss threats they had received from people in the Merriwa community.

“The hatred that was whipped up when Liam was running for local Council was disgusting and the people behind that smear campaign should be found and investigated by police,” said Mr Gillan.

“People can’t be involved with that kind of hate campaign and then just wash their hands of the consequences because we could have been killed,” he said.

“We have spoken to police about several people who may have been involved and we have given them screenshots of hateful comments made on the Merriwa Connect Facebook page,” he said.

“But it has all gone too far and they need to be accountable for the consequences of their actions,” Alex Gillan said.

Mr Gillan confirmed a hard drive which had recordings of external security cameras survived the fire and was given to police.

Related stories:

• Merriwa Residents Question Candidates – August 25, 2016.
• Standing by the Truth – September 9, 2016.
• EDITORIAL: Grubby Politics – September 9, 2016.
• More Investigations for New Council – October 6, 2016.
• Council Meeting – September 2016 – September 27, 2016.