Ex-coast councillor admits to misconduct

FORMER Cassowary Coast regional councillor Ben Heath appeared at Thursday’s local government meeting to make a public admission of misconduct committed during his tenure as division 6 councillor.

Mr Heath was ordered by the Councillor Conduct Tribunal to make the admission after it found he had engaged in misconduct by not registering his interest in Innisfail Seafood while in council.

Mr Heath had begun a personal relationship with the owner of the seafood store before 2016, the year he was elected, but he hadn’t declared an interest until after buying the business in 2018. He contended he was required to record his financial interest on his register of interests only once he had bought it.

The tribunal found Mr Heath had engaged in misconduct as his involvement with the business constituted a “non-financial interest” and failure to record it was a “dereliction of his responsibilities”.

The CCT found that even before he bought Innisfail Seafood, Mr Heath’s activities were directed towards the promotion, advancement and operation of the business and promotional activities showed he was integrally linked to it, thereby raising a real, perceived or potential conflict of interest between his private life and his duties as a councillor.

On April 28, 2020, “I received a notice,” Mr Heath said at Thursday’s council meeting. “The tribunal found I had engaged in misconduct as defined by the Local Government Act 2009, by failing to register an interest in Innisfail Seafood earlier than I did.

“I believe I have always been … transparent about my involvement with Innisfail Seafood and did not believe I needed to register an interest, until I become the owner … after which I did register an interest. The tribunal did not agree with this view. I acknowledge the misconduct as found by the tribunal.”