By Mitchell Clarke
A former Cardinia Shire mayor has called on the CEO to publicly release “crucial” information into an expenses investigation, fearing the council could be accused of a “cover up”.
The investigation into the expense claims made by councillor Collin Ross, which was presented to the September council meeting, recommended the council make further inquiries as to whether a code of conduct breach had occurred.
Mr Ross was required to provide a response to CEO Carol Jeffs before Monday 5 October.
However that statement won’t be made public until at least the November council meeting.
Former councillor George Blenkhorn, who served as mayor in 2011, urged Ms Jeffs to make the response public, prior to the council election.
He said ratepayers should be fully informed when voting for their preferred councillor.
“Allegations have been made against Cr Ross which have the potential to be serious, and I feel that having read that report, it’s only fair to see Collin’s response,” he said.
“The community needs to know all the facts before the election. The electors in Central Ward have to make a decision on what councillor they would like to represent them.”
Mr Blenkhorn said the councillor may have valid reasons for his travel claims and a public response could remove any apparent stigma, believing the investigation could jeopardise his right to a fair election.
However, if the response fails to answer key questions, Mr Blenkorn believes ratepayers have a right to know.
“There’s all sorts of situation which could happen. He hasn’t been found guilty or not guilty of any offence but my concern is for the community. We want a clear and transparent process,“ he said.
Mr Blenkhorn argues the council could expose itself to allegations of a “cover up” if a response wasn’t made public in the first instance.
“I was on council, I respect council and I don’t want council’s name to be tarnished with a cover up rort,” he said.
But Cardinia Shire Council acting CEO Peter Benazic said further information wouldn’t be publicly available until the release of the November council meeting agenda.
“In accordance with the resolution carried at the September council meeting, a report is being prepared for consideration at the November council meeting,” Mr Benazic said.
“It would be inappropriate to publicly release the documents any earlier.”
Collin Ross, who is vying to retain his spot on council, maintains the entire ordeal has been a “witch hunt”.
He told the Gazette he just wanted the investigation to be carried out “properly”, with the “respect it deserves”.
“I find it astounding that people who have lost contact with council, and have no idea of the internal activities, want to get involved in council matters. I think that’s really sad,” he said.
“The fact that people want all of this to be dragged out into the community, I just find it shocking. Would they want their personal details to be released publicly?”
