CHAMBER OF SECRETS

Damning report reveals ‘ culture of secrecy’ in council

TOWNSVILLE City Council says there is no way to “sugarcoat” findings that it failed to provide open and transparent access to personal information collected about residents.

A scathing audit by the Office of Information Commission, tabled in State Parliament this week, has revealed a culture of operational secrecy, staff ineptitude and poor record- keeping.

Auditors assessed the council’s compliance with the Right to Information and Information Privacy acts after three complaints between 2014 and 2016.

Council chief financial officer Matt Thomson did not deny the serious failings in the report, admitting “it’s not ideal”.

TOWNSVILLE City Council say there is no way to “sugarcoat” findings they failed to provide open and transparent access to personal information collected about residents.

A scathing audit by the Office of Information Commission ( OIC) has revealed a culture of operational secrecy, staff ineptitude and poor record- keeping inside the council.

Auditors were asked to assess the council’s compliance with the Right to Information ( RTI) and Information Privacy ( IP) acts following three complaints between 2014 and 2016.

They found the council’s generic collection notice for collating and storing personal information, including camera surveillance footage, was “meaningless” because it was “too broad”.

“( The council) does not adequately identify the types of personal information it holds nor explain why it collects the information and how it will use it,” the auditors said.

“The council’s policies and procedures about privacy and camera surveillance are not al- ways consistent with ( legislation).”

The audit found 53 per cent of files did not have “sufficient records” of actions taken to process RTI applications from members of the public and stakeholders.

The failings were linked to a lack of staff training.

“( Council) has not provided sufficient RTI and IP training to staff and some procedures are not detailed enough,” the audit said.

The council was also criticised for not providing “easy access” to RTIs online, which OIC first raised as an issue in May 2015.

“This affects the community’s confidence in the council, as information is difficult to find and access,” auditors said.

“The community does not know what information is available.”

The report noted that the council’s restructure provided an “opportunity” to im- prove transparency but raised concerns about the loss of expertise.

“Recent staff turnover from the council’s restructure risks eroding the corporate knowledge, expertise and general awareness of the staff’s obligations.”

Auditors were critical of the “minimal” supporting evidence the council supplied to show they were taking actions to improve.

“( It) is insufficient to deter- mine whether these actions will adequately address the issues we identified.”

Council chief financial officer Matt Thomson did not deny the serious failings identified in the report.

“We’re not going to sugarcoat this,” he said.

“It’s not ideal and it shows that our historical practices from 2015 were not up to scratch at the time.

“Since then we’ve reformed and restructured the way we do business and I can assure ratepayers that we are committed to an efficient, effective, and transparent local government.”

Mr Thomson said a “key component” of the council’s restructure was to improve record- keeping and information disclosure practices.

OIC made 24 recommendations to improve public access to information and is expected to conduct a follow up audit within the next two years.