It has been nearly six months since the newly-elected SDRC councillors took office, bringing a buzz of unusual activity to the Fitzroy Street chambers in Warwick as a bevy of first-time local government politicians adjust to life on the inside. But one kind of activity has come to a standstill: in the elapsed six months no complaint has been lodged against councillors according to SDRC records.
Indeed, the last complaint recorded was in January this year which involved an email-based slanging match between one former and one current Councillor, a dispute which was resolved by the Office of the Independent Investigator.
“It is refreshing,” said Cr Cynthia McDonald who was the subject of numerous complaints during her last term as a councillor.
More than 100 complaints were made against councillors during the last administration. Many had to do with “breach of trust”, “inappropriate conduct” during a meeting or speaking with the media.
“In the last term of Council, I experienced a complaints process that was, in my view, out of control,” Cr McDonald told The Town & Country Journal. She argued that complaints had been used to “stifle the democratic process” and used as a form of bullying.
Another of last term's complaints alleged that “a councillor failed to update their register of interests in an honest and transparent way, in that interests were added to some sections of the register but not in other relevant sections.”
Other complaints were more serious involving threatening or intimidating behaviour or verbal aggression. Notably, a 2020 complaint resulted in the former mayor, Vic Pennisi, writing an apology to Cr Cynthia McDonald for swearing about her behaviour in her presence, according to the register.
Mayor Hamilton describes the current climate in Queensland:
“The Office of the Independent Assessor has publicly stated that for the 2024-2028 term it anticipates investigating fewer complaints, focusing on the more complex and serious cases. I hope this does mean a more balanced system, because I think that would reflect that the majority of our ratepayers don't want to see their money wasted on complaints that are minor in nature, frivolous or vexatious.”
One example of a typical complaint from the previous council involved perceived conflicts of interest. According to the register:
“It was alleged that during the ordinary meetings of council on 25 January 2023 and 8 February 2023, a councillor participated in decisions of council concerning an application for relief from water consumption charges, while having a conflict of interest in relation to the matter due to their relationship to the applicant and their business interests. The councillor’s interest was said to involve a $2000 electoral donation from a company in 2020.”
After investigation, staff at the OAI recorded that:
“The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(c)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 as an unjustifiable use of resources. The investigation found that the applicant’s involvement with the company was limited to a shareholding and the applicant had no operational involvement with the company since 2009 and was not involved in a decision of the current Director of the company to make an electoral donation to the councillor in 2020. Nor did the investigation prove any awareness on the part of the councillor of the applicant’s ongoing shareholding in circumstances where the Act requires knowledge of a conflict of interest to exist for the obligation to declare to arise. Additionally, the councillor and the applicant were not established to have a close personal relationship that would amount to a conflict of interest.”
Most of the complaints ended with the statement that the “OIA dismissed the complaint …” or “the OIA decided to take no further action…”, indicating the amount of time and taxpayer money wasted on what amounted to often frivolous complaints to and by councillors.
“In my view the culture inside the Council Chamber is completely different to what it was,” said Mayor Hamilton, adding that that is the feedback she is receiving from the public. “I would describe the new Council so far as very engaged and passionate about the opportunity we have been given to represent the community.”
“It is refreshing to work in a Council that is focused on why they are there and not wasting time using the OIA for petty disputes,” Cr McDonald concluded.
