Public to get reference group details

Redland City Council tightened rules of operation for all groups at Wednesday’s full council meeting, making it obligatory to disclose meeting summaries and terms of reference.

The move came after Division 1 councillor Wendy Boglary raised the issue calling for details of an industry forum group set up in 2013 to forge closer relations between council and developers.

Cr Boglary also asked for the rules for future reference groups to be tightened to ensure the public knew who was on each committee and what they discussed with officers.

She called for a report explaining why the Development Industry Reference Group was formed without councillor knowledge, when previous forums had councillor input.

She also asked officers to explain why terms of reference were drafted to protect the identities of developers in the group.

Cr Boglary said she wanted greater accountability for all reference groups and agreed with the mayor to ask for terms of reference for future groups to be tightened to ensure the public knew who was on each committee and what they discussed with officers.

Officers said the terms of reference and names of members could not be released for legal reasons and listed other councils which regularly met with developers.

They also said the Industry Reference Group was not a forum for lobbying council on specific projects or for formulating policy. 

They said council community reference groups, such as those for domestic violence, youth forums and island groups, operated under anonymity.

Officers also said it was standard and widespread government practice not to publish minutes of reference group meetings to allow group members the freedom to be candid in their exchanges with council and to foster honest, open dialogue.

Cr Boglary said suggestions were still being considered to disband the group and reform under new terms of reference allowing disclosure of names.

However, she said now the City Plan 2015 was drafted, developers were less likely to need the group.

“This is a different type of group to a conservation group or an aged care group, who aren’t there to make money,” Cr Boglary said.

“… the minutes and the terms of reference, where possible, I would like made public as previous minutes from reference groups were placed on our website.

 “Council has to be very careful that we not only operate within guidelines of good governance but also that there’s no perception that we are not.

“By making sure everything is transparent and out there, there can be no perception of anything different.”

Deputy mayor Alan Beard and Mayor Karen Williams said they were uncomfortable and embarrassed with the request for the group's details and said it was a bid to tarnish the good work of officers.

Division 2 councillor Craig Ogilvie said he found out about the developer reference group reading the website of lobby group Redlands 2030.

Redlands 2030 website said the Development Industry Reference Group was mentioned in a council response to a development application for the 4000-dwelling Shoreline project. 

The council response, published on its website and reproduced above, said Shoreline representatives on the Development Industry Reference Group were given draft copies of the city's Economic Development Strategy on May 14, last year.

Cr Williams said the Development Industry Reference Group got an overview presentation on the proposed economic development strategy from a consultant, not a copy of the draft strategy. She said the presentation to the group was after a council workshop on April 22 and said the group had not seen or influenced the draft City Plan 2015.

Cr Williams said officers and councillors discussed the industry reference group in a workshop last year but no minutes were taken.

She said Cr Ogilvie was using the meeting to push a political perception at the expense of officers' reputations. She said she played no role in setting the group's terms of reference and urged Cr Ogilvie to report incidents of perceived misconduct. 

Cr Williams said the reference group was set up as a result of a 2011 forum, attended by councillors Boglary and Ogilvie, under a previous council.

She asked him to cease debate or be ejected from the meeting moments before Cr Ogilvie moved a motion of dissent in the chair, which was promptly voted down 6-5 with cllrs Bishop, Elliott, Hewlett, Boglary and Ogilvie against.

The meeting was then closed to the public.

Chief executive Bill Lyon also warned councillors to support allegations with evidence or risk being reported to the state's Crime and Corruption Commission.

After the confidential discussion,  Cr Williams publicly stated that if councillors and the community wanted to "return to the bad old days of previous administrations where it took 10 months and thousands of dollars  to approve car ports and backyard sheds or millions of dollars fighting unwinnable  court cases, she was not the mayor for this city".

The amended motion was supported unanimously.