Listen:

2020 Councillor Conduct Register

Date of Complaint	Name of Councillor*	Summary of Complaint	Type of Alleged Conduct	Referred to for decision	Date of Decision	Decision	Reasons for Decision
13 January 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DY(3)	It alleged a former Councillor received discounted rates on a property despite not meeting the requirements for maintaining this discount.	Inappropriate Conduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	4 February 2020	No further action.	The OIA dismissed the complaint pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 as the conduct does not constitute inappropriate conduct or misconduct. Inquiries established that the discount to the land was assessed in accordance with the Land Valuation Act 2010 and the former Councillor had no influence over the setting of those rates.
19 February 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DY(3)	It is alleged a Candidate in the 2020 Local Government election engaged in inappropriate conduct and breached privacy laws when he posted the address of the complainant on social media without the permission of the complainant.	Inappropriate Conduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	3 March 2020	Dismissed the complaint	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 as the conduct did not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct by a current Councillor as defined by the Act, as such it was outside the OIA’s jurisdiction.
25 May 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DY(3)	It was alleged that a Councillor sent a series of inappropriate messages on Facebook to a member of the public in relation to a comment made about the Councillor.	Inappropriate misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	10 June 2020	No further action	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(c)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 (the Act) on the basis that further dealing on the matter would be an unjustifiable use of resources. The decision was made as copies or screenshots of the Facebook messages in question were not able to be recovered making it difficult to assess and or prove whether the Councillor conduct was inappropriate.
28 July 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It was alleged that several attempts by the complainant to speak with the subject Councillor at a community event on 30 June 2020, the Councillor gave the complainant a ‘baleful look’. It was alleged that when the complainant asked the Councillor if Council would formally recognize a community service provided the Councillor responded “Whatever you think is a good thing”.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	26 August 2020	Dismissed	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 (the Act), on the basis that the conduct as alleged, does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct within the meaning of the Act. The Councillor subsequently appropriately recognised the service provided by volunteers in a Council meeting. It was further noted that due to a history of adverse interactions between the complainant and the Councillor an arrangement has been put in place for inquiries to be directed to Council systems rather than the Councillor.
27 August 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It was alleged that the Councillor was angry and abrasive towards a resident in response to a call the Councillor had made to the resident in response to a request to meet with the Councillor to discuss domestic customer service issues. It was further alleged the Councillor terminated the call to the resident who had not had an opportunity to discuss why the resident had wanted to meet with Councillor.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	17 September 2020	Dismissed	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 (the Act) as the conduct does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct as defined by the Act. Generally, domestic customer service complaints would be dealt with by council staff, rather than Councillors. The Councillor was reminded that in future should at least be referred to council staff to deal with in accordance with council policy.
7 September 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It was alleged that the Councillor was angry and abrasive towards a resident in response to a call the Councillor had made to the resident in response to a request to meet with the Councillor to discuss domestic customer service issues. It was further alleged the Councillor terminated the call to the resident who had not had an opportunity to discuss why the resident had wanted to meet with Councillor.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	17 September 2020	Dismissed	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150Y(b)(i) of the Local Government Act 2009 (the Act) as the conduct does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct as defined by the Act. Generally, domestic customer service complaints would be dealt with by council staff, rather than Councillors. The Councillor was reminded that in future should at least be referred to council staff to deal with in accordance with council policy.
7 September 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It is alleged that a Councillor posted on Facebook, giving advice about sporting groups being able to go ahead, which is a breach of Queensland Health’s advice of limiting gatherings to 10 people.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	23 September 2020	Take no further action	The OIA decided to take no further action pursuant to section 150Y(b)(i) of the Local Government Act 2009 on the basis that the conduct does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct. The Facebook post in question involved the Councillor sharing with constituents, information about sign-on events for a local sporting club. This does not constitute an endorsement or approval by the Councillor for the events to go ahead in breach of public health guidelines. The club is responsible for implementing its own COVID-19 safe plan to ensure that any events now or in future will be held in a manner that complies with Queensland public health guidelines.
16 September 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It is alleged that a Councillor lied to the OIA about a history of interaction between the Councillor and the complainant. That the Councillor had falsely claimed that council had put a system in place to re-direct correspondence from the complainant to go through council systems, instead of going directly to the Councillor, due to the Councillor’s concerns of continuing harassment. It is alleged that the system in question was actually introduced when the Councillor’s were dismissed by the Minister and residents no longer had a Councillor to contact, and that this system was in place long before the recent election which put the Councillor into office.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	20 October 2020	Dismissed	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009, on the basis that the conduct does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct. Council had identified email communications between the Councillor and the complainant, dating back to 2010. These included correspondence from the complainant in his personal capacity as well as in a role within community organisations. Council’s records management team were requested on 23 June 2020 to redirect all emails from the complainant to council’s email address council@logan.qld.gov.au. These emails were then actioned according to the appropriate corporate procedures, with a copy sent to the Councillor’s divisional email address. This system was arranged by the CEO, at the request of the Councillor. The CEO advised the complainant on 9 July 2020, that the Councillor preferred that all communications from the complainant go via Council’s systems based on their previous interactions.
18 November 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It is alleged a Councillor influenced Council’s actioning of a complaint about a compliance matter to benefit a friend.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	1 December 2020	Dismissed	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 as the conduct complained of does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct within the meaning of the Act. The complaint about the compliance matter was made direct to council and matters relating to the actioning of the complaint is the responsibility of council operations, there was no evidence the Councillor influenced the operational staff on this matter.
7 December 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It is alleged that a Councillor failed to comment on the allegations raised by a member of the public in relation to the conduct of council staff and research conducted by council and that the Councillor had ignored questions raised by the complainant and forwarded them to council’s chief executive officer for response.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	15 January 2021	Dismissed	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 (the Act), on the basis that the conduct does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct. The complainant was correctly notified by the Councillor’s office on 25 August 2020, and again in October 2020 that the Councillor was unable to comment or be involved in this matter as it related to alleged conduct by a council officer. The complainant was also informed that their correspondence was being forwarded to the CEO to deal with as required, and that their concerns were being investigated under council’s Administrative Action Complaint process. It is not considered appropriate for a Councillor to deal with a disciplinary matter relating to a council staff member. The primary responsibility for dealing with such matters is that of the chief executive officer.
9 December 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It is alleged that a Councillor forwarded a complaint from a member of the public to council for investigation instead of contacting the complainant directly to address the issue. The complaint related to a council infringement notice issued to the resident, which had progressed to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	15 January 2021	Dismissed	The OIA dismissed this matter pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009 (the Act), on the basis that the conduct does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct. The matter raised with the Councillor related to a council infringement notice, which is outside a Councillor’s realm of responsibilities. The complaint did not provide any information to suggest that any Councillor conduct had occurred, and therefore, this matter does not come within the OIA’s jurisdiction under the Act. The OIA noted that the Councillor took the correct action in relation to the complaint from the resident, by forwarding it to the relevant area of the local government to deal with.
14 December 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DZ	It is alleged a Councillor used a false address on their 2020 election campaign materials to lead voters to believe that they lived in the division. It is alleged that a Councillor failed to declare a conflict of interest in a matter considered at a committee meeting of council's in December 2020. The matter related to planned road works and a shopping centre to be built on the same street where the Councillor had office space.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	Office of the Independent Assessor	19 January 2021	Dismissed	The complainant was advised to raise the first allegation with the Electoral Commission of Queensland to deal with under the Electoral Act 1992. The OIA dismissed the second allegation pursuant to section 150X(a)(ii) of the Local Government Act 2009, on the basis that the conduct does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct. The OIA viewed the audio recording of the meeting and considered that the correct meeting procedures were followed by council pursuant to sections 150EW and 150EX of the Act. The Councillor had rented office space at the location in question, ending in December 2020. Given the short-term non-proprietary nature of that interest, it was not considered that the Councillor had a declarable conflict of interest in the matter being considered by council on 1 December 2020 namely planned road works in the environs of the Councillors (now previous) rented office space.
27 November 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DY(3)	It was alleged that the Councillor's email tone was inappropriate and threatening.	Inappropriate conduct	Council	28 April 2021	That the Councillor did not engage in Inappropriate Conduct	At the Ordinary Meeting on 28 April 2021 Council resolved (212/2021) to adopt recommendations made at the City Governance Committee on 21 April 2021, this included: That on the balance of probabilities the Councillor has not engaged in inappropriate conduct alleged to be contrary to section 150K(1)(a) of the Local Government Act 2009 in that the conduct regarding a communication with a constituent was inappropriate and threatening and involved a breach of the behavioural standards of the Code of Conduct for Councillors in Queensland. That it be recorded that Council disagrees with the findings of the report and is of the view that this complaint did not meet the criteria to be referred back to Council and should have been dismissed by the Office of the Independent Assessor.
6 October 2020	Councillor Lisa Bradley	It is alleged that Councillor Bradley engaged in inappropriate conduct in that communications made with a constituent through social media interactions involved a breach of the behavioural standards of the Code of Conduct for Councillors in Queensland.	Inappropriate conduct	Council	28 April 2021	That the Councillor engaged in Inappropriate Conduct and that the Councillor be reprimanded	At the Ordinary Meeting on 28 April 2021 Council resolved (213/2021) to adopt recommendations made at the City Governance Committee on 21 April 2021, specifically: That on the balance of probabilities Councillor Bradley has engaged in inappropriate conduct contrary to section 150K(1)(a) of the Local Government Act 2009 in that communications made with a constituent through social media interactions involved a breach of the behavioural standards of the Code of Conduct for Councillors in Queensland. That Councillor Bradley be reprimanded for engaging in inappropriate conduct contrary to section 150K(1)(a) of the Local Government Act 2009. That if Councillor Bradley engages in inappropriate conduct contrary to section 150K(1)(a) of the Local Government Act 2009 regarding communications with a constituent through social media interactions involving a breach of the behavioural standards of the Code of Conduct for Councillors in Queensland, it will be treated as misconduct and referred to the Office of the Independent Assessor.
26 November 2020	Not included pursuant to s150DY(3)	It was alleged at the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 18 November 2020, a Councillor released information that was confidential to council when they placed a copy of a confidential report and associated background papers, that was previously considered by Council at a Committee Meeting in 2017, in front of all councillors, and then moved a motion to table the documentation.	Inappropriate conduct or misconduct	OIA	16 March 2022	Take no further action	The OIA decided to take no further action pursuant to section 150Y(b)(i) of the Local Government Act 2009 (the Act) on the basis that the conduct does not raise a reasonable suspicion of inappropriate conduct or misconduct. Prior to moving the motion to table the documents, the Councillor stated that the documents were part of a confidential report from a previous council meeting. It was therefore considered that the Councillor fulfilled their ethical obligation to identify the confidential nature of the documents, and that the action of presenting the documents in front of Councillors at the Ordinary Council Meeting, did not amount to a breach of Section 171(3) of the Act. By voting on the motion to table the documents, Council resolved as a group to release the documents into public record, and it was Council’s responsibility to consider the appropriateness of releasing the documentation.

* Only to be included if the local government or conduct tribunal decided that the Councillor engaged in inappropriate conduct or misconduct, or where the Councillor agrees to their name being included in the register (Section 150DY(3) Local Government Act 2009)

Top