Adelaide City Council to discuss code of conduct complaint against Phillip Martin

Another complaint has been upheld about a senior Adelaide City councillor after he went public with “disrespectful” comments.

A councillor was disrespectful by publicly discussing the health of former Adelaide City Council chief executive Mark Goldstone, an inquiry has found.

It is the second time within three months that a code of conduct complaint has been upheld against former senior media executive Phillip Martin.

The complaint was lodged after Cr Martin was interviewed on ABC Adelaide in April after he called for a special council meeting to discuss Mr Goldstone’s lengthy absence on sick leave and whether he had taken legal action against the council.

An investigation by Adelaide law firm Kelledy Jones found Cr Martin failed to show respect during the interview to Mr Goldstone and Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor, who he accused of demonstrating “radio silence” about Mr Goldstone.

Councillor Phillip Martin during an Adelaide City Council meeting at Adelaide Town Hall. Picture: Brenton Edwards

In a report to be discussed by elected members on Tuesday night, Kelledy Jones has recommended Cr Martin privately apologise to Ms Verschoor and Mr Goldstone, who resigned in June.

The report said while Cr Martin’s comments were “undoubtably his personally held views”, he was not the council’s principal spokesman and it was not his role to publicly speculate about Mr Goldstone’s health or employment.

“The former CEO’s health issues, as well as his ongoing employment with the council, were not appropriate matters for discussion in the public realm, particularly noting the work, health and safety obligations the council owed to the former CEO,” it said.

“Indeed it was both reasonable and appropriate for the Lord Mayor to not speak publicly about these matters.”

The report also said Cr Martin’s “public characterisation of the Lord Mayor as engaging in ‘radio silence’ on these issues, being of a private, sensitive nature to the former CEO, is both unreasonable and disrespectful”.

Former Adelaide City Council chief executive when he was appointed in 2015. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“The former CEO was, and is, entitled to privacy with respect to personal health issues, and his ongoing employment with the council,” it said.

“Making these comments in a public manner served to ‘broadcast’ such matters, and fuel speculation, on these issues at the time.”

Kelledy Jones found comments by Cr Martin that Mr Goldstone had been “fighting to extend his contract when others would not” breached the code of conduct as it was “a personal and private matter between the CEO and the council”.

In a statement, Cr Martin said his version of what had happened to Mr Goldstone before he took sick leave had not been included in the report.

“I will be providing details of this sorry chapter in the City of Adelaide to the Ombudsman in the hope that he can uncover the facts,” he said.

Mr Goldstone could not be contacted for comment.