31/05/2025
Ross Kerridge has spent nine months misleading the people of Newcastle.
He’s made serious claims about Council’s finances, the airport, pools, staff, and more. And now the independent Davidson Review has exposed those claims as false.
No fraud. No corruption. No maladministration. No broken culture.
Just a high-performing Council that followed the law, delivered for the city, and upheld strong governance.
Facts matter. The Review sets the record straight.
*The Independent Review of Council sets the record straight*
The full report of the Davidson Review has now been released. It is thorough, independent, and unambiguous.
The Review found that the City of Newcastle is a well-managed, high-performing organisation. It found no evidence of fraud, corruption, maladministration, or any breach of legislation. What it did find was multiple examples of best practice across governance, financial management, project delivery, and organisational culture.
These findings matter, because they directly contradict the false narrative that has been pushed by Ross Kerridge and others since his campaign began and throughout his time as our City's Lord Mayor.
The Review tested the very issues that Lord Mayor Kerridge has spent months attacking: the City’s finances, our office arrangements, the Newcastle Airport, "vanity projects", the operation of public pools, the staff Christmas party, and more. It looked at over 800 public submissions and more than 260 internal documents. It was led by respected former interstate council CEOs and overseen by an independent Audit Committee chaired by one of Australia’s most experienced public auditors.
The results are clear:
✅ The City’s finances are strong, well-managed, and compare favourably to other large councils.
âś… Decisions about the airport were lawful, responsible, and appropriately scrutinised.
âś… The Christmas party was modest, appropriate, compatible with other organisations, and within delegated authority.
âś… Leasing office space at 12 Stewart Avenue was standard practice and supported a better workplace.
âś… Public pool decision making followed proper processes and legislative requirements, with conflicts of interest properly declared and managed.
âś… The organisational culture is healthy and improving, not broken, not toxic, and certainly not in crisis.
On every major claim made by Lord Mayor Kerridge, the Review found he was wrong.
This matters because Cr Kerridge has spent six months undermining confidence in this organisation, making false allegations about council staff, and attacking the integrity of the former Council. He’s made serious accusations in media interviews, Facebook posts, letters to Ministers, and during Council meetings. He’s implied misconduct where none existed and questioned the integrity of staff and councillors without evidence.
That sort of behaviour has a cost, not just for morale inside the organisation, but for public trust. It is one thing to disagree on policy. It is another entirely to run a campaign on misinformation and refuse to correct the record when the truth comes to light.
Labor Councillors supported all 23 recommendations of the Davidson Review. We also successfully moved that an executive summary, including key findings and Council’s response, be sent to all Newcastle households. Every resident deserves access to the facts.
The former Labor-led Council has been vindicated. The current Council has a responsibility to now lead with honesty and respect. That includes acknowledging when the facts don’t support the rhetoric, and when political attacks have gone too far.
Our City deserves transparency from Cr Kerridge, with facts on the table and the public-record corrected.
