Media Release – Geoffrey Swan, 1 February 2021
MINISTER AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICE FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE CONFIDENTIAL LEAK
On the afternoon of Thursday 14 July 2021, Tasmanian Times journalist Geoffrey Swan made phone contact with Mr Craig Limkin, the then Director of Local Government, to advise of a confidential leak of information.
Swan was ready and prepared to publish an article around the leaking of the confidential candidate names of the three shortlisted applicants for the position of General Manager of the Huon Valley Council. He was seeking a view from the Director before proceeding.
The first question from the Director was, “where did the leak come from,” to which Swan responded, “my source is confidential, but I do have the names which I will be prepared to share with you.”
“The next response from the Director,” said Swan, “was to advise that if I wanted to make a complaint I would need to provide him with a letter pursuant to Section 339 of the Local Government Act 1993 along with a signed Statutory Declaration.”
Swan proceeded to publish his article 15 July 2021.
https://www.tasmaniantimes.com/2021/07/explosive-breach-impacts-huon-valley-council/
In the following week Swan forwarded his request for a formal investigation as was required by the Director. Mayor Enders subsequently advised publicly that she had also requested the Director of Local Government to undertake an investigation into the leaking of the names.
“It is now almost 7 months since the request for a formal investigation has been made and with just four days before a Public Meeting around the flawed General Manager Recruitment Process, we still we have no reported outcome,” said Swan.
In this time there has been further correspondence with both the Minister and the Office of Local Government around the community concerns into the flawed General Manager Recruitment Process, and into seeking an update on the investigation.
“A letter to the Director asking if his office have obtained Statutory Declarations from the GM Panel members, other Councillors and/or senior Huon Valley Council has not been responded to,” said Swan.
“It is my understanding,” said Swan, “that the leaking of confidential information out of Closed Council, a Council committee, or in this case a convened Panel; is a serious breach, and is subject to criminal action by the Department of Justice.”
This week Swan has received additional information to the leaked names that were provided to him in July 2021.
The name of the source of the leak has now been disclosed, something the Office of Local Government has failed to deliver in the past seven months.
A motion before the Public Meeting on Friday 4 February 2022 is calling on the possibility of the Minister for Local Government and Planning, Hon Roger Jaensch, Red Giant Recruitment Agency and individual Councillors to face Court using the services of a high-level mainland SC Barrister over the flawed GM Recruitment Process.
Bob
February 4, 2022 at 13:40
Tonight’s public meeting at Franklin is an opportunity, for those councillors who voted to confirm the appointment of HVC’s inappropriately selected candidate for the position of council/s general manager, to explain how they found it reasonable to vote for Browne’s confirmation – even though they were armed with evidence and authority that the recruitment process had been hopelessly flawed.
It is to be hoped that the meeting will move that these councillors present themselves for interrogation.