Council won’t give out emails

THE Gold Coast City Council is refusing to make public two email directives from Mayor Tom Tate to CEO Dale Dickson about an internal staffing matter.

A Right to Information request from the Bulletin uncovered 42 mayoral directives or directions to the CEO from March 2016 to December 2017.

Access was refused to five documents including two that “contain details referencing employees of the Council of the City of Gold Coast”.

The council RTI decisionmaker said some of the information in emails on July 10, 2017 and September 7 included the position title and name of the council officers.

“All these officers are employees of the council, it is my opinion that to release this information, which I consider to be their personal work information, could cause them some consternation, prejudice their right to privacy and possibly cause them public interest harm,” the RTI decision-maker said.

The Bulletin understands an attachment containing the mayoral directives was created after a question on notice from Councillor William Owen-Jones.

Councillors were aware of some directives the Mayor had given to the CEO but remained ignorant of many which related to council business including the internal staffing matter.

Council minutes show councillors discussed the directives as a general business item behind closed doors at the final governance committee meeting last year.

The committee’s recommendations, which have become public record, show Hinterlandbased Cr Glenn Tozer (above) moved a three-part motion seconded by Cr Daphne McDonald.

Cr Tozer moved that the CEO review all the directives — contained in a confidential attachment — to determine whether there was compliance with the Local Government Act and other legislation.

He also moved that the CEO provide a preliminary assessment of the complaint to the Director-General, Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning along with the attachment.

But the resolution later from full council shows the committee recommendation was not to be put and that only the attachment remain confidential.

Council CEO Dale Dickson, when asked if he had ever been given a directive by the Mayor in relation to an employee or employees of council, replied: “I don’t comment publicly on staffing matters”.