“Illegal and potentially defamatory” One year on from Dorset Council suspension

August 7, 2024

By Rachel Williams

One year on from the sensational suspension of Dorset Council, exiled Mayor Greg Howard has slammed the preliminary  findings and recommendations of the Board of Inquiry.

Cr Howard has lashed out at the time the BOI is taking, with Local Government Minister Nic Street confirming there is still no date set for a release of the final report.

“The Government shares the Dorset community’s eagerness to have the matters surrounding the Board of Inquiry resolved, however it is important that the process
is respected, and the necessary investigations are undertaken and completed,” Mr Street said.

But Cr Howard says the findings and recommendations that he has seen are “illegal and potentially defamatory” with a lack of evidence to support them.

While he cannot release details of the confidential report, he said the 12-month process had “not found anything of consequence against the councillors”.

“There is no excuse for it to take so long. I can only assume it’s because the instructions from the Minister was to cast the net so far and wide to find something,” Cr Howard said.

“To go back over 10 years and four different councils – I don’t know what they are trying to prove.

“Without saying what the findings and recommendations are, I would say I am not surprised the Solicitor General is reviewing them as I believe the findings would be illegal and potentially defamatory and they certainly lack credible evidence.

“I don’t know how much the other councillors put into the response or how much the Council did, but I would suggest that a lot of it would be hotly contested and the Solicitor General will have to give that a lot of consideration to protect the government because if it comes out in its current format it will be grossly unfair to the Council as a collective.”

Cr Howard said he estimated the exercise would end up costing $2 million and not achieve anything to improve the local government sector – which he said requires an overhaul of the Local Government Act which he described as “ambiguous and contradictory”.

“In legal terms this is a bit like double jeopardy – trying to be tried on things that have already been dealt with already in the past,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the community has been left without adequate representation for 12 months – the Dorset community don’t want to talk to the Commissioner and they don’t like people coming in and telling them what to do.”

He specifically criticised the Council’s return to Northern Tasmanian Development Corporation and its sport facility plan, the 5.7% rate rise and the
new business case for the controversial Rail Trail.

Commissioner Andrew Wardlaw said that during his 12-month tenure, the Council’s decisions had been guided by qualified advice and, whenever possible, considered openly and transparently during the monthly Council meetings.

“As Commissioner, I have consistently prioritised the best interests of the community, aligning decisions with the strategic direction set by the Council or what is deemed to be in the community’s best interest,” Commissioner Wardlaw said.

“When necessary, community consultation has been conducted to ensure that the community’s views are respected.”

Former Labor Government Minister and Dorset ratepayer Brian Wightman said the situation needed to be brought to a close so that the community could heal.

“If fresh elections need to be called, just get it done,” Mr Wightman said.

“Small regional towns need community leadership and trust in their leaders.”