Ballarat City Council
Approximately one year after I left Ballarat City Council, I was named in an investigation report by the Inspector of Municipal Administration that was tabled in the Victorian Parliament.
I was not formally contacted by the investigators, who it seems, believed the baseless rumours that I was living and working in the Middle East !!!!!!
A straight forward ‘Google’ search would have confirmed what was very well known – I was living and working in Darwin in the Northern Territory.
Local Government Victoria did not inform me that the report would be tabled in the Victorian Parliament. How would those responsible feel if this had occurred to them?
Following this theme, the investigation report contained comments relating to me in Section 3.2 'Investigation of other matters arising' and the organisation in Section 3.3 'General issues arising during investigation'. The comments in Section 3.3 were sourced from a range of people whose identities are not disclosed and it seems were able to make comments on that protected understanding.
The subsequent media coverage was completely devoid of context. It did not reflect the extremely positive results of the Council organisation or the active support I gave to many individuals, causes, projects and activities in Ballarat, including projects with the local media.
My analysis is that the agenda was to discredit the Council of the day and myself leading up to a Council election.
As part of the media coverage at the time, I responded to questions from the Age. The subsequent article bore no resemblance to the responses provided and went beyond the professional which I found to be disgusting.
Further, in the Age article I noted that comments are attributed to 'unnamed business man', 'observers' and 'some councillors'. Who were these faceless and nameless people – what agenda did they have?
I particularly noted the 'Crook in the guts' comment - I recognise this comment - I don't think there is any 'guts' in making such comments without being prepared to put your name to them.
An ABC Local Radio interview took place in October 2008 with a representative of Local Government Victoria which contained references to what happened 'on my watch'. I wonder whose 'WATCH' it was in Local Government Victoria regarding the investigation, to make sure that a fundamental right such as natural justice was maintained and that the relevant Minister was appropriately briefed?
None of this has changed how I view my time working at Ballarat City Council. It was a successful and enjoyable period. Ballarat is a great place to live and work and I wish the community well.
An Ombudsman Victoria report clearly pointed out flaws in the investigation process and highlighted the fact that I was denied natural justice:
The Northern Territory News picked up on this media coverage and printed some negative articles regarding the investigation following the themes outlined above.
Draw your own conclusions.