Kalgoorlie-Boulder council endorses Goldfields Children Charity Ball sponsorship despite policy issue

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder council has endorsed financial support for the Goldfields Children Charity Ball despite a “strict application of policy” ruling it out. A motion to provide $23,740 in-kind support for venue hire at the Goldfields Oasis for next year’s ball was raised by Cr Terrence Winner and unanimously supported around the table. The officer recommendation originally put to council was to only approve in-kind support of $10,000, in line with previous years, because of a strict application of the policy ruling out the consideration for sponsorship, as advertising of the event had already begun. Cr Winner’s foreshadowed motion instead called for the full amount being requested to be provided, less the few thousand asked to cover an event cleaner and manager. He said he believed his motion was a “fair compromise” to assist a “wonderful event”. Cr Nardia Turner stated city officers were “a lot more diligent” in their sponsorship processes now and that was why the issue was discovered. The report to council stated a review of the policy would take place in early 2025 to address any inconsistencies. Cr Kyran O’Donnell said his concern with supporting the motion was that it might “open the floodgates” for others that had been denied funding previously. “I know this is a much bigger event than any of the others that have been brought to us, but possibly its something we could revisit with our policy, discuss it, and vote just to put in a clause there that we can do something,” he said. “But I am a bit worried about if we chop and change it, and change (the policy) on the run.” Speaking to the Kalgoorlie Miner after the meeting, Mayor Glenn Wilson said the council had contributed more than $100,000 in support for the event in its near 25-year history because of the profound impact it had on the community. “This isn’t just a charity event; it has a huge flow-on effect for our local economy, benefiting industries like retail, hair, and beauty, while bringing our community together for a shared cause,” he said. “We’re proud to give back to an event that gives so much back to Kalgoorlie-Boulder.”