A series of blog entries and a flyer published and circulated during last year's council election campaign has resulted in a Parkes councillor censured for alleged misconduct. Parkes Shire Council formally censured Cr Glenn Wilson for a code of conduct breach after he made allegations of corrupt behaviour by Council, allegedly spread false and misleading information, and allegedly shared confidential information in a public blog and community flyer in the lead-up to the election in September. It's also alleged Cr Wilson intimidated and threatened Cr Marg Applebee at a meeting of councillors in November. The code of conduct matters were addressed during the confidential session of Council's April 15 monthly meeting, its outcome released to the public once discussions concluded. Four councillors - Neil Westcott, Louise O'Leary, Doug Pout and George Pratt - voted in favour of censuring Cr Wilson, while three councillors - Ken McGrath, Joy Paddison and Matthew Scherer - voted against it. Cr Bill Jayet was absent from the meeting due to being overseas. Council has also decided to refer Cr Wilson's alleged misconduct to the Office of Local Government for further action. This, Council said in its minutes, is "due to the seriousness of the breach that warrants further penalties to be considered by the Office of Local Government". One of the first actions of the new Council was to self-report Cr Wilson’s allegations to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for their consideration. ICAC in its assessment in November decided not to investigate Council because the information provided "did not support a likelihood that corrupt conduct might have occurred". Mayor Westcott described the confidential discussions on April 15 as long and difficult, and said he felt disheartened by the situation. "Actions carry ramifications and all councillors always need to be mindful of what they say both inside and outside the chamber," he said. "There are so many positives in this Council and we should put our minds and efforts to the future. "I'm looking forward to putting this behind us and moving forward as a team." Council listed in its minutes the grounds on which Cr Wilson should be censured. Two formal complaints were tabled, the first with five allegations against Cr Wilson and the second with one allegation. Council's findings of the complaints were also presented. The first allegation states that in a community flyer circulated by a letter box drop during the election campaign, Cr Wilson made allegations that "executive staff of Council had engaged in covert, indirect, and deceptive dealings, and bypassed official procedures and/or regulations". The second allegation reads on 7 September, in an election blog entitled ‘Parkes Shire Swimming Pools Secret History And Cost To Ratepayers’, Cr Wilson "circulated misleading information and made allegations against Council employees of covert, indirect or deceptive dealings, or bypassing official procedures or regulations". The third allegation says, on 8 September, in a blog entitled ‘Elvis 2024 Was Sailing To The Rocks To Crash’, Cr Wilson "circulated misleading information and inappropriately disclosed private Council personnel details". All three of these allegations saw him, Council said, "inappropriately involve himself in staffing and operational matters of Council". Allegation four stated that on 8 September, in a blog entitled ‘Roundabout on Condobolin Road and Middleton Street $98,000 Wasted’, Cr Wilson "disclosed information that was untrue and misleading with respect to Council employees and inappropriately and unjustifiably criticised Council employees, including engineers and road builders". The final allegation, number five, under Complaint 1 related to the blog entitled ‘Who Are The Real Bullies And What Really Happens’ posted on 12 September - two days before the election - and claimed Cr Wilson "disclosed confidential information with respect to a Code of Conduct complaint, disclosed information that was untrue and misleading, inappropriately criticised and defamed both an employee of Council and Cr Applebee, and engaged in harassing conduct". Complaint 2 is the allegation of intimidation and threats towards Cr Applebee at a meeting on 5 November. Council said in all its findings the evidence showed Cr Wilson’s conduct in these matters was in breach of Council's Code of Conduct. And that Complaint 2 was also alleged behaviour that didn't comply with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 - which includes all Council officials, including councillors must take reasonable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons.
