An interesting thing happened to me on Monday night 2nd February 2015, I was at our local (Clarence) Council meeting where I stood and tried to ask a question without notice – as was the agenda item at the time.
As I started with a preamble to my question the Mayor stopped the meeting, demanding that I ask the question. Stunned I said the question would not make sense and could not be answered without the preamble.
Mayor Doug Chipman then demanded I ask the question. I then said I did not appreciate his manner and asked him to desist and allow me to continue with my question as I had prepared. The Mayor then stopped the meeting as a procedural matter and left the room for around 5 minutes. In that time an alderman re-entered the chamber and said to a colleague the Mayor had just called the police.
On his return he asked me to ask my question. When I explained that I could not ask it without the preamble as it would not be understood and could not be able to be answered. I then asked another question which the mayor said he would take on notice and would not answer now. I then said that the council and the Mayor had never answered any question put on notice; I then asked when would the answer to my question be forthcoming. He said the answer would be in the next minutes of this meeting. I then asked, “as the council officers have stated that the minutes are not an accurate record of the meeting and only a representation of what occurred what type of answer will I get?” No reply.
I find as a businessman and a rate payer that firstly the council’s attitude to be mind boggling at the least and for them to confirm that the minutes are not accurate to be unbelievable.
As minutes of a meeting is a legal document I find it difficult to understand that they would alter them after the meeting had closed to add the Mayor’s answer to my question in that meeting?
I am not afraid to ask the difficult questions but when authority of this kind appears to pervert accountability we all need to be alarmed, in my view.
• *All about Michael Figg Federal Public servant, Commonwealth and Federal Police officer, Northern Manager of Harris Business machines, General Manager of ADMIX fuel resellers, Tasmania, Owner operator of Enviro Clean, Tafe sessional teacher, Volunteer Business Mentor, Creator and editor of the Eastern Shore Sun newspaper
