Business · Asia Pacific

City of Perth sacks CEO Michelle Reynolds and appoints Garry Hunt for 12 months

The City of Perth council dismissed chief executive Michelle Reynolds and endorsed a 12-month appointment of former chief executive Garry Hunt. Council documents and the City of Perth's announcement say Hunt will start on 19 October and the appointment was made at a special council meeting on 13 October.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 independent reports from 4 outletsHow it's made

4 outletsLatest reporting Oct 14, 5:26 AM UTC3 min read

Coverage: Center OnlyL 0 · C 3 · R 0 · 1 unrated

Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

Dr Garry Hunt previously led the City of Perth from 1994 to 2002 and has more than 30 years of experience as a local government CEO (per The Sydney Morning Herald, wa.gov.au).
Michelle Reynolds was suspended earlier and was later sacked from her position on September 22 following an investigation into claims against her, a decision she says she intends to challenge (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
Maria Cooke had served as acting chief executive after Michelle Reynolds was suspended by the council (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
The appointment of Garry Hunt was publicly announced by the City of Perth and reported by multiple outlets (per The Sydney Morning Herald, wa.gov.au, The Age).

The brief

The City of Perth council has dismissed chief executive Michelle Reynolds and appointed Dr Garry Hunt to a 12-month contract while it searches for a permanent chief executive. Council records and the City of Perth's announcement show the decision was made at a special council meeting on 13 October and that Dr Hunt will commence on 19 October.

The City statement describes Dr Hunt as a former Perth chief executive who led the City from 1994 to 2002 and as having more than 30 years' experience in local government; it also lists his later roles at the cities of Joondalup and Melville.

Reporting in The Sydney Morning Herald adds that Michelle Reynolds had been suspended earlier, that Maria Cooke served as acting chief executive during the suspension, and that Reynolds was later sacked on September 22 — a decision she says she intends to challenge.

The Herald also reports the suspension followed a confidential meeting with Local Government Inspector Tony Brown to discuss a report into claims against the chief executive and that the council was put on notice by Brown.

The City of Perth's public notice frames the 12-month hire as a way to provide leadership while recruitment proceeds; the City says Hunt is “ideally suited” to lead complex organisations and navigate periods of change.

The Herald records that councillors discussed commissioning a fresh inquiry, with an estimated duration of about three months and an estimated cost the Herald reported as about $120,000.

The announcement and the council minutes name the precise sequence of recent staffing actions: suspension of Michelle Reynolds, Maria Cooke acting in the role, the special council meeting on 13 October to endorse Garrett Hunt's 12-month appointment, and Hunt's start date of 19 October.

Coverage across the City of Perth's statement and the Herald gives consistent facts on the appointment and Hunt's start date, while the Herald supplies additional detail about the suspension, the confidential meeting with the Local Government Inspector, the sacking date Michelle Reynolds cites, and the council discussion of a new inquiry.

No source in this package provides further documentation of the claims that led to the suspension, independent verification of the number or nature of complaints referenced in council discussion, or the text of the inspector's report.

Why it matters

Residents of the City of Perth bear the immediate administrative cost because a temporary CEO appointment and a proposed fresh inquiry involve direct council spending documented as about $120,000 in reporting and will shape who manages city services during recruitment.
City of Perth employees and stakeholders face leadership uncertainty because Michelle Reynolds was suspended and later sacked on September 22, Maria Cooke served as acting CEO, and a 12-month interim contract creates a fixed short-term leadership horizon.
Elected councillors have a documented governance risk: the Local Government Inspector Tony Brown held a confidential meeting that put the council on notice, and councillors approved the interim appointment amid reported complaints and governance scrutiny.
Dr Garry Hunt's appointment concentrates operational authority in a returning chief executive with prior tenure at Perth and long service elsewhere, which changes the balance of institutional memory and decision-making in the council during the recruitment process.

What to watch next

Whether Dr Garry Hunt takes up the role on 19 October as the City of Perth announced.
Whether the City of Perth council proceeds with the fresh inquiry discussed in council meetings and the Herald's reporting, including whether the council finalises terms and the estimated three-month timeline reported by the Herald.
Whether Michelle Reynolds formally challenges her sacking after the September 22 action she says she will contest.
Whether the council completes recruitment for a permanent CEO before the end of the 12-month appointment term.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details

4 source articles · 4 unique outlets · 2 distinct reports

Coverage mix: Center Only· 3 Center

Where the outlets are based: Asia 100%

Coverage mix

Center Only

Left

Center

Right

0 outlets

3 outlets

0 outlets

The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.

Geography

Where the outlets covering this story are based.

4 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia

All4 Asia4 · 100%

Coverage imbalance

Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (3 of 3 rated sources); comparatively few Left or Right-rated outlets have published on the event.
Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Asia (4 of 4 geographically-identified sources).

How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

1 framing difference · 5 uncorroborated claims · 4 information gaps

Sources broadly agree on the core facts but frame the story differently.Compared across 2 reports whose full text Updat3 used.

Framing / emphasis differences

Sources agree on the facts but emphasise different angles, actors or consequences.

The City of Perth's announcement frames the appointment as a continuity measure highlighting Dr Garry Hunt's experience; The Sydney Morning Herald frames the appointment within a wider governance controversy that includes the suspension, the sacking on September 22, and a confidential meeting with the Local Government Inspector.

Updat3: The underlying facts agree; only the emphasis differs.

One-sided or uncorroborated claims

Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.

The Herald reports an estimated cost for a fresh inquiry of about $120,000; the City announcement does not state an inquiry cost.
The Herald links the suspension and later sacking of Michelle Reynolds to a confidential meeting with Local Government Inspector Tony Brown about a report into claims against the chief executive; the City announcement does not lay out that sequence in detail.
The Herald attributes the council being put on notice to the Local Government Inspector Tony Brown; the City announcement attributes the appointment decision to the council's endorsement at the special meeting.
Michelle Reynolds is quoted in the Herald characterising the council as 'presently the subject of an inquiry into their own governance issues, breaches of confidentiality and outright dysfunction' and noting the council had received 'no less than 25 complaints since the start of this year.'
The City of Perth described Dr Garry Hunt as having the ability to 'lead complex organisations and navigate periods of change.'

Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.

Not established by the reporting

Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.

No report Updat3 read provides the inspector's report or its detailed findings that led to the suspension and sacking.
No source supplies the full text of council resolutions or minutes beyond the stated meeting dates and appointment endorsement.
No source provides comprehensive counts or the substantive nature of the complaints referenced in council discussion.
Michelle Reynolds says she intends to challenge her sacking on September 22; the City announcement does not address that challenge in the supplied texts.

Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

How we got here

Michelle Reynolds was suspended by the City of Perth council in 2026, after which Maria Cooke served as acting chief executive (The Sydney Morning Herald). On 22 September 2026 the council concluded an investigation and removed Michelle Reynolds from the chief executive role, a decision she has said she will challenge (The Sydney Morning Herald).

The City of Perth’s authority to appoint and dismiss a chief executive derives from the Western Australian Local Government Act 1995, which sets the statutory framework for council governance and CEO employment. The City of Perth itself was reconstituted as a separate local government entity in the 1990s, operating under that Act for CEO appointments and council administration.