Tea Tree Gully Council mayor Kevin Knight lodges formal complaints against senior staff
A major metropolitan council is imploding, with its mayor lodging formal complaints against its senior staff over their handling of a sexual harassment complaint against him.
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Tea Tree Gully mayor Kevin Knight has lodged formal complaints against his council’s senior staff over their handling of a sexual harassment complaint.
Mr Knight has taken the extraordinary action after elected members voted to remove him as principal spokesperson and prohibit him from hosting citizenship ceremonies.
In two letters sent to organisational services and excellence director Ryan McMahon, he has called for an independent investigation into events surrounding a code of conduct complaint lodged against him for tapping a young female staff member on the backside with rolled up paper.
The incident culminated in a confrontation between Mr Knight and chief executive officer John Moyle in a public cafe last October, during which Mr Knight allegedly gave Mr Moyle the “two fingered salute” and swore at him after he was asked to apologise.
Mr Knight has denied making the obscene gesture, saying instead that he told Mr Moyle to tell another staff member who had lodged the sexual harassment complaint “to take a flying leap”.
The complaint was investigated by law firm Norman Waterhouse, which found he had breached the council’s code of conduct.
Councillors voted to ask Mr Knight to apologise — which he did — and undergo sexual harassment training, which has not happened because he was asked to stand aside while another investigation was underway into other matters.
In his letters of complaint against Mr Moyle, two senior staff and the council’s law firm, Mr Knight has claimed the complaint was unfairly handled, resulting in confidential information being circulated to elected members.
“My complaints will allege that these matters were handled in a manner that was disrespectful of my position as Mayor, have prejudiced any opportunity for me to receive a fair and equitable hearing in my defence, were a breach of confidentiality and trust and were inadequate and unprofessional for a person holding the position as a CEO of a large metropolitan council,” he wrote.
“My reputation, the reputation of council and the reputation of local government in general has, in my opinion, been seriously damaged by the way these complaints have been handled which, in my opinion, now requires independent, detailed investigation and scrutiny.”
Mr Knight, who is in his second term as mayor, said he was asked by Mr Moyle in an email last October to return keys which granted him access to the council’s administration offices after a formal complaint was lodged against him.
In his letter, Mr Knight said an email was then sent by Mr Moyle to 17 council managers and staff telling them his access had been revoked, which he believed was “disrespectful and insulting” — and a breach of privacy.
Mr Knight also is alleging that Mr Moyle’s recollection of the incident at the cafe — which Mr Moyle confirmed had happened when questioned by a councillor at a public meeting in March — was inaccurate.
He is claiming Mr Moyle later provided confidential material to elected members which contained “a lot of unsubstantiated allegations, opinions, hearsay and distortions of the truth”.
“It is no wonder the elected members have moved such stringent motions against me,” he said.
Councillors voted on Tuesday night to remove all references to the “mayor” from the council’s media policy, replacing it with “principal spokesperson”, who has become Mr Knight’s deputy, Damian Wyld.
Mr Knight also has questioned the legality of stopping him from hosting citizenship ceremonies, arguing state and federal legislation states they must be conducted by a mayor.
In his letters, he said the “issue was now much more serious than the original allegation against me.”
“It potentially undermines professional relationships between mayors, elected members and council staff all over South Austalia,” he said.
“It must be thoroughly investigated by a properly qualified industrial relations professional.
“It questions the truthfulness and honesty of my recollections against the CEO and other staff.
“It questions the validity, legality, morality and ethical behaviour of staff when using council record management systems.
“Every mayor and elected member in SA should be interested in the outcome of this investigation.”
It is understood a special council meeting could be called to discuss the implications of Mr Knight’s actions by making the complaints public.
The council — including Mr Moyle and Mr Wyld — declined to comment.