Local government officials will appear at a Mount Isa hearing on Wednesday in the inquiry into the functions of the Office of the Independent Assessor.
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Mount Isa City Council CEO Dave Keenan, Cloncurry mayor Greg Campbell and Mount Isa city councillor Kim Coghlan are all set to speak at the hearing into the functions of the controversial OIA.
The Office was created in 2018 when Councillors faced strict integrity which include a new code of conduct for local government members and a new definition of misconduct.
The laws created new criminal offences, mandated reporting requirements for councillors and procedural fairness requirements.
However misconduct allegations are being dismissed because watchdogs don't have time to investigate them properly.
The parliamentary committee has heard the Office is so swamped with allegations it has only had time to probe one in five complaints in the current financial year.
Some of those allegations came from Mount Isa and two of them - one against Cr Peta MacRae the other against Cr Coghlan who will speak on Wednesday - were dismissed by Council vote despite a council officer's recommendation they be upheld.
Ahead of Wednesday's hearing Mount Isa City Council CEO Dave Keenan made a private submission to the Inquiry which he said was based on his experience at a number of councils.
Mr Keenan said there was originally "a great deal of hope and anticipation" about the role the OIA might play in managing complaints about councillors however much had changed in the three years since it started.
"The establishment of the OIA brought forward the perception that complaint matters would be dealt with in a swift and effective manner. That has not necessarily proven to be the case," Mr Keenan said.
Mr Keenan said the CEO was a key contact for an investigation yet he was aware of the OIA contacting council staff directly.
He said protocols needed to be tightened up including the question of whether staff were compelled to take part.
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Mr Keenan also noted issues with conflicts of interests at council meetings and suggested OIA attend more council meetings so they could better deal with the issues.
"Many of the staff of the OIA are very skilled in compliance and investigations but very few hold direct experience in the operations of local government, especially in relation to managing issues associated with elected officials," he said.
He said many cases straddled the 2020 local government elections which hampered councillors' ability to contest re-election.
"It is important to ensure the OIA is adequately resourced so as to clear or complete all investigations prior to a local government election," he said.
He recommended consideration of a requirement to report the complaint within three months, limit complaints against individuals to five a year and suggest some trigger point for departmental intervention.
The hearing is on at the Ballroom, Redearth Boutique Hotel, Mount Isa, Wednesday, March 2 from 3pm.
Register to attend here.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
