COUNCILLORS will be able to request that Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) complaints are put on the Scenic Rim Regional Council’s Councillor Conduct Register, following a successful motion by Cr Amanda Hay.
Prior to the April 30 meeting, Council was only required to list OIA complaints that have been upheld on the register.
Any complaints that are dismissed are not required to be added to the register.
Following Cr Hay’s motion, councillors can write to the CEO requesting a dismissed complaint is listed on the register.
Cr Hay said she moved the motion to allow Councillors who have dismissed or no further action decisions handed down regarding complaints against them to have such complaints and the outcomes recorded on the Councillor Conduct Register (at their request) in the interest of transparency.
“Currently, the amended legislation requires only upheld complaints to be recorded,” said Cr Hay.
“It is important that the public have visibility of the often ridiculous and time-wasting complaints lodged.”
The motion was passed six votes to one, with only Division Four Councillor Jennifer Sanders against the motion, citing the cost of keeping these records as the reason for her dissent.
At the time of print, no OIA complaints have been recorded on the SRRC Councillor Conduct Register in the current Council term.
Sources close to Council have advised that there have been many OIA complaints, however none of these have been upheld.
Asked when the register would be updated, a Council spokesperson said this will happen as and when required, when any relevant information is provided by the Councillors.
Council was unable to provide information about the detail on the register and whether it would be different to what had been recorded previously.
“At this stage we are unable to provide any detail on this as a process has yet to be developed.”
The OIA was unable to provide information about the number of complaints in relation to SRRC councillors.
“The OIA does not provide council-level complaint data, however, councillor conduct information is required to be published in annual reports of each council,” an OIA spokesperson said.
