In accordance with the Council resolution of 12 December 2023 (below), City of Newcastle (CN) sought advice on the proactive release of the outcome letter and investigation report prepared by the external Conduct Reviewer, in accordance with the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act).
As required under the GIPA Act, CN consulted with third parties whose information was captured in the documents prepared by the external Conduct Reviewer.
The outcome letter was prepared by the independent Conduct Reviewer and is a summary of the independent Code of Conduct review and its findings. The outcome letter was made available to Councillors at the Council meeting held on 12 December 2023.
A redacted copy of the outcome letter is available. The redacted sections of the outcome letter are currently the subject of consultation with a third party. Once the consultation is completed, CN will be able to determine whether it can release the information, in accordance with the GIPA Act.
The investigation report is the full report prepared by the external Conduct Reviewer. Consultation on the investigation report continues, in accordance with the GIPA Act. As noted in the Council resolution, the Procedure does not provide for Councillors to receive a copy of the investigation report where the finding is there is no breach of the Code of Conduct.
CN is currently working through its legal obligations in relation to the investigation report, having regard to the Code of Conduct, the Procedure and the GIPA Act. This will take some time as it is important CN complies with its legal obligations. A further update will be provided in due course as to whether the investigation report is able to be proactively released under the GIPA Act, but this is not expected to be till late January 2024 at the earliest.
Statement attributable to David Clarke, Executive Director Corporate Services
In accordance with Council’s resolution of 12 December 2023, City of Newcastle sought advice on the proactive release of the outcome letter and investigation report prepared by the independent, external Conduct Reviewer into alleged Code of Conduct breaches by City of Newcastle’s Chief Executive Officer.
City of Newcastle is governed by strict requirements under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) when considering the proactive release of documents which contain the information of third parties.
City of Newcastle has undertaken consultation on the outcome letter, which was prepared by the external Conduct Reviewer and is a summary of the independent Code of Conduct review and its findings. The outcome letter was made available to Councillors at the Council meeting held on 12 December 2023″.
A redacted copy of the outcome letter is available on City of Newcastle’s website at [link]. The redacted sections of the outcome letter are currently the subject of consultation with a third party. Once the consultation is completed, CN will be able to determine whether it can release the information, in accordance with the GIPA Act.
The investigation report is the full report prepared by the external Conduct Reviewer. Consultation on the investigation report continues, in accordance with the GIPA Act.
The investigation report is not able to be considered for release until the GIPA Act requirements have been finalised. A further update will be provided in due course.
14 December 2023
An independent investigation has been undertaken into alleged Code of Conduct breaches by City of Newcastle’s (CN) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) following a resolution of Council on 25 July 2023 and a letter from the Minister for Local Government.
In accordance with CN’s Procedure for Administration of the Code of Conduct, the matter was referred to an external Conduct Reviewer, independent of CN, for assessment and investigation.
The investigation found no evidence that the CEO incentivised the author to write the articles, nor did he reveal to the author confidential information, which was contained in the letters to the Newcastle Herald.
There is no evidence that the CEO directly contributed to the letters and the investigation found both allegations were not substantiated.
The Conduct Reviewer has referred allegations of how confidential electoral roll details about Council staff and their friends and family came into the possession of journalists to the appropriate external agencies to determine the next steps.
The procedure does not provide for the Conduct Reviewer to take action or make a referral in relation to the Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly.
Now the matter is finalised, CN will advise the Minister for Local Government and relevant external agencies of the outcome of the investigation.
The investigation report remains confidential, and the procedure does not provide for Councillors to receive a copy of the investigation report where the finding is there is no breach of the Code of Conduct.
CN will proactively consider and seek advice to determine whether the outcome letter and investigation report issued by the Conduct Reviewer, in part or full, can be released publicly in accordance with the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.
The full Procedure for Administration of the Code of Conduct is available on the CN website.
The Resolution to Ordinary Council Meeting 12 December 2023 regarding the outcome of this matter is also available.