THE City of Ballarat’s chief executive officer Anthony Schinck was present at the November 7 meeting between John Burt and the Premier.
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Mr Schinck said it was one of the council’s regular meetings to update Premier Denis Napthine on the progress of their priority projects.
“I personally presented a preview to the Ballarat Regional Capital Plan,” he said.
“This was the only discussion item at the meeting.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Dr Napthine said the fact Cr Burt did not intend to run for mayor a second time was also discussed.
Mr Schinck said Cr Burt was always open about his decision not to recontest the mayorship.
In Parliament, Dr Napthine was asked to confirm if he met with Cr Burt, and revealed Mr Schinck was also present.
The Premier described allegations he tried to fix Ballarat’s mayoral vote as “outrageous”.
On Tuesday, Ballarat West MP Sharon Knight asked Dr Napthine in question time if he had sought to directly influence the ballot to ensure a Liberal Party member was elected as mayor of Ballarat.
Dr Napthine said he had no such involvement.
The topic of Ballarat’s mayoral race returned to Parliament on Wednesday, when Bendigo East MP Jacinta Allan asked the Premier to respond to a question about his schedule on November 7.
Dr Napthine accused the Labor Party of calling Cr Burt “a liar” and noted the councillor’s 20-year record as the principal of Ballarat Specialist School and a community leader.
“Councillor Burt denied the allegations,” he said.
“If the Labor Party want to call him a liar, let them call him a liar.”
