The Lismore App has received a document from an anonymous source stating a Lismore City Councillor should be formally censured for misconduct, following an investigation into an event that occurred in December 2020.

The councillors actions have triggered a recommendation from the reviewer to make changes to council policy regarding how councillors bring development applications (DA's) to council meetings.

The document says that the Councillor has breached clauses 3.1a), e) and g) as outlined in Lismore City Council's Code of Conduct charter outlined below:

General conduct 3.1 You must not conduct yourself in a manner that:

a) is likely to bring the council or other council officials into disrepute

b) is contrary to statutory requirements or the council’s administrative requirements or policies

c) is improper or unethical

d) is an abuse of power

e) causes, comprises or involves intimidation or verbal abuse

f) involves the misuse of your position to obtain a private benefit

g) constitutes harassment or bullying behaviour under this code, or is unlawfully discriminatory

An extract from the reviewer's report suggests that the Councillor be formally censured for misconduct pursuant to section 440 of the Local Government Act.

A formal censure can mean many things, a slap on the wrist, a training course, being dismissed, being fined among others. The punishment depends on the severity of the breaches and if that person has a history of breaching the code of conduct.

A spokesperson for the Office of Local Government told the Lismore App "If a reviewer conducts an independent investigation and determines a councillor has breached the code of conduct and recommends censure, the investigation report must be reported to a council meeting." 

"While the investigation report may be considered in a closed meeting in the absence of the public, the council’s decision must be published in the publicly available minutes of the meeting." 

"Where the council does not adopt the conduct reviewer’s recommendation, it is required to provide reasons in its resolution and these must be published in the minutes of the meeting. "

"The council is also required to notify the Office of Local Government of its decision."

The document was received on May 11, 2021. It should be noted that the Code of Conduct recommendation was not included as part of any LCC meeting yet. There were three in June, with the General Meeting on June 8, followed by two Extraordinary Meetings on June 15 and 22.

The Lismore App contacted Council to confirm that the Code of Conduct against the Councillor concerned will be brought up in the next council meeting on Tuesday 13 July.

A council spokesperson has said "The recommendations that you refer to are part of a confidential report. As such Council is prohibited from making any comment."

Another recommendation by the reviewer, as part of this investigation, was to amend Council Policy 5.2.31 to include the following before a Councillor can call up a Development Application (DA):

(a) The number of public submissions received;

(b) The validity of the matters raised in the public submissions received;

(c) The extent of variation to Council policies proposed;

(d) The lack of policy to direct determination of the application; or

(e) The perceived public significance of the application.

Under current LCC policy, a Councillor does not need to give a reason to call up a DA (bring a DA to a council meeting).

The question of party politics should be raised in regards to having no reason. Do Councillors political beliefs influence their decision when calling up a DA? If 'yes' is the answer, this would mean that it is in their parties best interests, not necessarily those of the Lismore community. That would be like calling up a DA after receiving two objections when the majority of the community are for a development. Yes, it gives the minority a voice but at the expense of the majority?

There is a lot of conjecture about politics being in Local Government, yet we have endorsed candidates for The Greens, Labor, Sustainable Future Party, Animal Rights Party and possibly the National Party (this has been discussed but no confirmed).

Whatever the answer, the biggest question is why not adopt a recommendation that makes the DA process closer to representing the best interests of the community at large?

We wait for the next council meeting on Tuesday, July 13.