Council ignored selection warning
THE corruption watchdog took the rare step of warning Ipswich Council about perception problems if they chose a chief executive from within.
But the council went ahead and ignored the advice.
The council has been under the microscope, with a Crime and Corruption Commission probe triggering 15 arrests since the middle of last year.
That includes charges against former mayors Paul Pisasale and Andrew Antoniolli and former chief executives Carl Wulff and Jim Lindsay.
Lindsay was chief executive when arrested last September and the council moved to appoint a replacement, choosing Sean Madigan, a former police officer turned state bureaucrat who had been at the council since August 2015. There are no allegations of wrongdoing against Mr Madigan.
Acting Mayor Wayne Wendt yesterday confirmed then acting chief executive Gary Kellar wrote to CCC chairman Alan MacSporran during the recruitment process “to determine whether there were any issues, or potential issues, surrounding the final three applicants”.
“Mr MacSporran acknowl- edged that it was not his role to interfere … (but) did provide thoughts about how the selection of an internal candidate could be perceived amid ongoing investigations,” Mr Wendt said.
He added Mr MacSporran never questioned the background, integrity or ability of the final three candidates.
“To be the preferred candidate is a credit to the strength of Sean Madigan’s application and experience,” Mr Wendt said.
The CCC declined to comment yesterday.
Antoniolli and Pisasale have said they will defend the charges, while Wulff has previously denied wrongdoing.