A Noosa councillor has been found to have breached a code of conduct over two emails that were sent to fellow councillors and several members of staff.
At the Ordinary Meeting of council on October 26, Councillor Brian Stockwell was reprimanded for his conduct relating to “failing the requirement for councillors to treat council employees with courtesy and fairness”.
In a statement, Cr Stockwell explained the matter and acknowledged he had made a mistake.
“At this month’s Ordinary Meeting of council a finding of inappropriate conduct was made in relation to two emails I sent earlier this year relating to a report dealing with the extension of car parking in a public recreation park in Noosa Heads,” he said.
“The emails raised my concerns about a staff recommendation coming before council.
“Because of the serious nature of the issues I raised in regard to whether there was a breach of the Employee Code of Conduct, I made the mistake of including councillors and several members of staff in the email.
“My concerns should have been directed only to the CEO or the Mayor.
“I acknowledge that in raising the matter more broadly I did not treat the relevant staff with the appropriate level of courtesy and fairness required by the Councillor Code of Conduct.
“I hold the staff member who wrote the report in high regard, and have already apologised to that officer.
“It’s human to make mistakes, but important that we learn from them. I have enjoyed good working relations with staff throughout the organisation for many years and take on board the lessons from this incident to ensure this continues into the future.
“I have spent much of my life fighting for what we call Noosa values, our lifestyle, our residents and our environment. I will continue this battle, but I have been reminded this year that the political discourse must remain in the political realm, and not affect those just trying to do their job.”
The council minutes from last month’s meeting say the emails were sent on March 12 and 13.
“Cr Stockwell engaged in inappropriate conduct by breaching the Code of Conduct for Councillors in Queensland requirement for councillors to treat council employees with courtesy and fairness by sending emails to persons with allegations that recommendations provided within a council officer’s report had been in breach or in potential breach of the council’s Employee Code of Conduct,” the minutes state.
Council formally expressed its disapproval of the conduct by Cr Stockwell, ordering him to be reprimanded and to attend training or counselling at his own expense within three months to address the conduct.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Council CEO Larry Sengstock said the matter had been dealt with at the October Ordinary Meeting.
The Office of the Independent Assessor investigated the allegations and provided its recommendations to council to decide.
“Councillors formally expressed their disapproval of the inappropriate conduct and reprimanded the councillor for his actions,” he said.
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