{"id":315051,"date":"2022-03-22T16:26:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T06:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=315051"},"modified":"2022-03-23T15:20:14","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T05:20:14","slug":"councillor-calls-out-crazy-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/03\/22\/councillor-calls-out-crazy-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Councillor Calls Out ‘Crazy’ System"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cr Kathy Duff with the silver bracelet which she presented to the winning jockey of the 2021 Burrandowan Cup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 22, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett councillor Kathy Duff has described as “crazy” the fact she has now been twice investigated for alleged misconduct when she was just trying to help her community.<\/p>\n

The first complaint – lodged after she\u00a0arranged for flowers to be planted in a Kingaroy park ahead of a Remembrance Day ceremony – cost her $3000 in legal fees before it was eventually dismissed last year.<\/p>\n

The second complaint, dismissed by the Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) on Monday afternoon, involved her arranging for keys for Murgon Town Hall to be provided to a local pastor for a church service.<\/p>\n

Cr Duff told southburnett.com.au<\/strong>\u00a0she had contacted the Local Government Association of Queensland for advice after the second complaint was raised.<\/p>\n

She believes the LGAQ then took her case to the media however she had already spent “probably $1000” on legal fees for her defence ahead of the Courier-Mail newspaper publishing details of the complaint on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Cr Duff said she had been a councillor for 18 years.<\/p>\n

In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious\u00a0Butch Lenton Memorial Bush Councils Innovation Award at the annual LGAQ conference, recognising her contribution to the community.<\/p>\n

“(LGAQ president) Mark Jamieson said I was a model councillor, that I was all about community,” Cr Duff said.<\/p>\n

Cr Duff said “misconduct” should be about “lining one’s pockets”, not trying to help the community fix a problem.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Twice I was trying to do something because of the community, and I have been accused of misconduct,” she said.<\/p>\n

“To spend resources (on investigating these sorts of complaints) is just ludicrous.”<\/p>\n

Cr Duff admitted the two complaints of misconduct had taken a toll, with the first one left hanging over her head for months before the OIA decided to take no further action.<\/p>\n

A representative of the OIA reportedly told the Courier-Mail the second complaint should have never gone that far, but it “lacked resources” and “stringent laws had held up its ability to dismiss the case earlier”.<\/p>\n

southburnett.com.au<\/strong> approached SBRC CEO Mark Pitt but he declined to comment on the complaints process.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Editorial<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

by Anne Miller<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Parliamentary inquiry into the functions of the OIA is under way after widespread criticism of the current system for handling complaints against councillors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Councils must publish the outcomes of complaints in a register – the South Burnett Regional Council’s register is online<\/a><\/strong> – but neither the names of the councillors or the identity of the person who lodged the complaint are included.<\/p>\n

In most cases, the councillor is not aware who has lodged the complaint – whether it is a member of a local action group with a genuine issue, a political opponent or simply someone with a grudge.<\/p>\n

In one case listed on the SBRC register, the OIA noted “there were reasonable indications that the complainant in this matter was a fictitious identity”.<\/p>\n

In May last year a suggestion was put forward that a $200 “complaint fee” be imposed.<\/p>\n

Mt Isa City Council wanted to charge people who lodged false or frivolous complaints against councils a $200 fee for unnecessarily running up ratepayer costs.<\/p>\n

If complaints were upheld \u2013 fully or partially \u2013 the $200 fee would be refunded.<\/p>\n

Complaints about operational matters such as fallen trees, potholes or missed garbage collections would not attract any fee.<\/p>\n

There were also calls that the OIA automatically dismiss complaints made anonymously.<\/p>\n

southburnett.com.au agrees with Cr Duff. The current system IS crazy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one should have a problem with councillors being investigated for snuggling up with developers, turning a blind eye to breaches of by-laws, abusing ratepayers or approving tenders submitted by their mates … but that’s a long chalk away from helping to unlock a hall.<\/p>\n

Honestly, who would want to be a councillor? You really would have to be crazy …<\/p>\n