Report into council GM rankles ex-mayor
FORMER Huon Valley mayor Peter Coad has questioned a report into an investigation into the council’s handling of a conflict of interest after it refused to release it in full.
The council commissioned the investigation by Edge Legal after it was revealed a candidate who applied for general manager was in a relationship with the head of the contracted recruitment agency.
That candidate, Jason Browne, was successful and has since started in the role.
There is no suggestion Mr Browne was ineligible or not qualified for the position.
The council said the report found there were no breaches of the council’s code of conduct, the local government act or the council’s governance framework.
It also said there was no evidence the recruitment was affected by bias.
Huon Valley Mayor Bec
Enders said the council couldn’t release the full report to protect it from breaches of confidentiality, privacy and defamation.
The council released a “redacted version of the key findings” via a media release.
The release said the council was notified of the conflict of interest on July 4.
“The late disclosure by the recruitment agency would have made it undesirable to remove the recruitment agency from the process at a late stage,” the version of the findings said.
“The recruitment panel was confident in being able to select for themselves a short list but was unaware as to how to properly manage such a conflict.”
The agency submitted 14 of the 85 applications to the recruitment panel.
“The restriction of the recruitment agency not being involved in any decision as to the relevant candidate’s suitability to manage the conflict of interest did not adequately
address the perceived bias,” the release reads.
“The appropriate management strategy was to remove the recruitment agency from the recruitment process.”
Mr Coad said the “redacted” findings were not adequate.
“I cannot see why the release can’t be released in full,” he said.
Mr Coad also questioned the report’s independence.
The council confirmed Edge Legal had been engaged to prepare the general manager’s employment contract.
“Edge Legal is a well-respected company, I have no reason to question the acting general manager who appointed them,” Ms Enders said.