WCC Media release. Thursday 9 October 2008

“COUNCIL APPOINTS INTERNAL OMBUDSMAN

Wollongong City Council has appointed a Professional Conduct Coordinator as another step
towards improving transparency, accountability and good governance within the organisation.
Karen Apps has been appointed to the newly created position, responsible for coordinating
and undertaking independent investigations into complaints against Council staff and services.

As part of her role, Ms Apps will also establish and implement an effective system of
complaints management for dealing with claims made by staff and members of the
community.”

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From ICAC website “What we mean by corruption

The ICAC deals with corruption as it is defined in the ICAC Act. Below is the extract from the ICAC Act – Section 8 – which provides a definition of corruption, public officials and public authorities in the ICAC Act.

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Illawarra Mercury “Life after ICAC: it’s time to move ahead

By Vernocia Apap  13/10/2008 4:00:00 AM

After the battering that Wollongong’s reputation has taken as a result of the Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation, it’s time for the city to dust itself off and move forward.

At least that was the consensus among city leaders last week in the aftermath of ICAC’s report being handed down. It told of unprecedented corruption in a public sector organisation, spanning five levels of council.
….

Senior fellow at the University of Wollongong law faculty Gerry Holmes says there are many lessons for Wollongong City Council to learn from its recent experience.

The first is the issue of caucusing – where councillors meet before a council meeting and decide which way they are all going to vote on a particular issue or planning decision.

“This was an issue at Shellharbour too,” Mr Holmes said.

The model of local government was also becoming increasingly unsustainable, he said.”

full story …

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/life-after-icac-its-time-to-move-ahead/1331378.aspx

‘Clean’ councillors still angry at dismissal

Illawarra Mercury story by Veronica Apap, 10/10/2008 3:22:00 PM

“Former Wollongong City councillors are relieved the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s final report has been released.

Wednesday’s report revealed unprecedented corruption for a NSW public sector organisation, spanning five levels of the council.
…

None of the former councillors were surprised by the report’s contents, and several felt vindicated that their early suspicions about the dealings of those named in the report had been confirmed.

However, there was still lingering anger that councillors who had done nothing wrong were thrown out when the council was sacked.

Councillors were dismissed by former premier Morris Iemma in March on ICAC commissioner Jerrold Cripps’ recommendation after 12 days of public hearings, which exposed scandal after scandal.”

full story

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/clean-councillors-still-angry-at-dismissal/1330643.aspx

From ICAC report:”Systemic weaknesses conducive to corrupt conduct

The corrupt conduct within and affecting the Council was systemic as well as serious. A number of senior
managers whose responsibility it was to apply and enforce systems of internal control were themselves
either corrupt or engaged in behaviour that was conducive to the corrupt conduct of Ms Morgan. In these circumstances, it is necessary for the Commission to consider the broader customs, leadership and
governance mechanisms within the Council.

When analysing corrupt conduct, anti-corruption agencies typically recommend that power be shared,thereby reducing risk. A traditional approach addressing Ms Morgan’s conduct might include recommendationsthat the elected councillors take more responsibility for DA determination or that supervisory systems be improved. However, several of the Council’s key managers (Messrs Gilbert, Scimone and Oxley) andfour of the Councillors (Messrs Zanotto, Jonovski, Gigliotti and Esen) themselves engaged in corrupt conduct. As set out in Chapter 7, the Commission has also found that Mr Oxley engaged in conduct that increased the likelihood of corrupt conduct occurring.

Therefore the Commission is not able to conclude that simple modifications to the Council’s system of checks and balances would have prevented corrupt conduct in this case. As a result, it is necessary to consider the wider picture.”  (ICAC WCC 3 page 133)

The Administrators (Three Amigos) and General Manager (Head Honcho) of Wollongong City Council are now promoting a pretence that the former culture within WCC has changed and that, with the release of the 3rd and  final ICAC report, we can draw a line in the sand.

At a media conference yesterday, to coincide with the release of the final ICAC report, the position of the Administrators (as reported on ABC 97.3 radio this morning, is that “… we don’t believe that culture is there anymore. It is not there now. ” (words to that effect)

And, that due to what has been put in place, they are confident that it  “… will not be there in future.” (ditto)

The Three Amigos and Head Honcho’s position is that many of the recommendations made by ICAC in its report have been put in place.

In the absence of accompanying calls from the Council for the return of elected Councillors and the return of the former WCC Neighbourhood Committees, this position can be regarded as an invitation, by those who are enjoying unchecked bureaucratic positions of power in Council, to accept the pretences which are necessary to maintain the present unacceptable ‘status quo’.

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WCC media release, Wednesday 8 October 2008

“COUNCIL MOVES FORWARD AFTER ICAC

Wollongong City Council’s Administrators and General Manager have welcomed findings from
the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), saying the organisation would act
immediately to implement the recommendations of the Commission.

In a third and final report handed down today, ICAC found a number of former Council staff and
Councillors had acted corruptly during the period 2004-2007, and has recommended seeking
advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions with respect to criminal charges.

Dr Col Gellatly AO, on behalf of the Administrators, said as well as identifying some
recommendations for improvements to Council’s processes, the report also acknowledged the
major reforms that have already taken place within the organisation.

“Council has made many changes since the ICAC investigation began. The most recent examples
include the establishment of an Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel, appointment of an
Internal Ombudsman and adoption of ICAC best practice guidelines for the assessment of
Development Applications,” Dr Gellatly said.

“Council is currently preparing a register of Development Application determinations that rely on
SEPP1, this register will be publicly available on Council’s website in the near future and regularly
updated.”

“While we still have a long way to go to regain the community’s trust and restore the credibility of
Council as a corruption resistant organisation, the Administrators look forward to continuing to
work with staff and the community to restore pride in the Council and in the city.”

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From the Excutive Summary section on Council Management:

“Finally, in respect of Mr Oxley, the Council’s General Manager from 1988 to 2007, the Commission found
that:

* some of his conduct had the direct effect of interfering with or overriding established governance  mechanisms (such as Council’s Contributions Plans, the objects of SEPP 1, the receipt of expert planning advice and the decisions and oversight of Council) and the Code of Conduct;

* his behaviour, both in terms of specific conduct and his more general prodevelopment beliefs, created obvious behavioural cues that could have adversely influenced the approach that planning staff adopted when assessing DAs;

* his pro-development enthusiasm was well-understood within Council’s DAC Division, and much of his conduct examined in the report was known to Ms Morgan and others in the Division and not only had the potential to adversely affect their exercise of official functions but, in the case of Ms Morgan, did
so;

* his failure to take action in response to information brought to his attention that Ms Morgan had a conflict of interest clearly had the effect of allowing her corrupt conduct to continue.

The Commission is satisfied that Mr Oxley’s conduct increased the likelihood of corrupt conduct occurring
and was conduct that was liable to “allow, encourage or cause the occurrence of corrupt conduct”. “(ICAC WCC 3 page 9)

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The third ICAC report into WCC can be downloaded from the ICAC website at:

http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/index.cfm?objectid=58416A39-AF1E-B096-566E403021EC2F65

Some extracts from the Executive Summary:

“Findings of corrupt conduct and section 74A(2) statements

The Commission has found that Ms Morgan and Messrs Vellar, Tabak, Gilbert, Oxley, Scimone, Zanotto,
Jonovski, Gigliotti, and Esen engaged in various forms of corrupt conduct between 2004 and 2007.” (ICAC WCC 3 page 9 – see below for more detail).

“Major recommendations

A total of 27 corruption prevention recommendations are made in this report. A number of these recommendations will have broader relevance and the Commission encourages all NSW local councils to
consider their applicability. The Commission’s major recommendations include:

* That Wollongong City Council publish a register of DA determinations that rely on SEPP 1 and that the NSW Department of Planning monitor and enforce the requirements for all consent authorities to keep records of their assessment of development applications seeking a variation to development standards.

* That the NSW Minister for Planning consider expanding the classes of development for which Joint Regional Planning Panels will be the consent Authority to include certain categories of development relying on SEPP 1 objections.

* That the NSW Minister for Planning consider ways in which Joint Regional Planning Panels can be made resistant to improper influence, such as:
- Regularly rotating panel members across different panels
- Limiting the tenure of panel members
- Drawing panel members on a random basis, or at least in a manner which makes their appointment diffi cult to predict.

* That Wollongong City Council establish an Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel; re-establish the position of Internal Ombudsman; train and appoint additional protected disclosure offi cers; and reconstitute its Audit and Governance Committee with an independent chairperson.

* That Wollongong City Council rewrite the position descriptions, contracts and performance agreements of the General Manager and relevant senior managers so that the desired anti-corruption behaviour is recognised and rewarded.” (ICAC WCC 3 page 11)

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