Reports into council’s handling of asbestos, previously kept secret, may be released next month.
The mayor, Mark Greenhill, will advise councillors on the form in which the four reports should be released at next week’s council meeting.
At the same time, there is still a dispute over who should have the reports.
Cr Kerry Brown, who took redacted copies home to study more closely, is defying a majority vote to hand back any copies councillors have.
At an extraordinary meeting on April 4, councillors voted 7-4 to return all copies and, if necessary, sign a statutory declaration that they hadn’t made copies or shown them to anyone else.
Cr Daniel Myles, who moved the “return documents” motion, said he did it to ensure “public confidence” in managing confidential matters.
“Confidential information has made its way to the media but by councillors handing all confidential reports back, we can say for sure that it was not a councillor who leaked,” he said.
Cr Brown – who voted against the motion – said she wanted the chance to scrutinise the reports.
“As the governing body that commissioned the investigations and the resulting reports, councillors are entitled to full access to them,” she said.
“Furthermore, we have a responsibility to use that access to inform ourselves fully of their contents so that we can provide leadership in implementing their whole-of-organisation recommendations.”
At another extraordinary meeting last week, she tried to have the “return documents” motion rescinded, supported by fellow Green Brent Hoare as well as Liberals Brendan Christie and Kevin Schreiber.
Cr Schreiber said they should have access “to do our job effectively”. While councillors had been briefed about the reports “that’s not the same as sitting down with the document and reading it”.
“They have allegedly gone to other people ... so why should they not come to councillors?”
Uncensored copies of the reports are understood to have been given to the local government minister, SafeWork NSW and the Environmental Protection Authority, although council would not confirm this.
A spokeswoman said: “Because this matter is subject to review by a regulatory authority, council is not in a position to provide this information.”
It is also believed that copies have been given to some senior management. Councillors themselves have only seen redacted versions, with names, positions and other details blacked out.
In trying to overturn the return documents motion, the four councillors argued that it prevented them being able to “make considered and well-informed decisions as a member of the governing body” – a requirement under the Local Government Act.
The rescission motion was lost, meaning councillors were bound by the motion to hand them back. But Cr Brown will not.
“I have retained my copies of the redacted reports and written to the general manager because I do not believe the motion to return them was lawful.”
I have retained my copies of the redacted reports ... because I do not believe the motion to return them was lawful.
- Cr Kerry Brown