Adelaide City Council chief executive Clare Mockler tells councillors to stop wasting money on code of conduct complaints

Adelaide City Council chief executive Clare Mockler has sent a stern letter to councillors who keep complaining about each other.

Bickering Adelaide City councillors have been told to stop wasting ratepayers money on complaints against each other.

Chief executive Clare Mockler has written to elected members, warning she would start to refuse to investigate complaints if she believed they were “immaterial, frivolous or vexatious”.

Ms Mockler, who must examine each complaint to determine if they warrant investigation, said she was particularly concerned about them being misused during the lead-up to the local government elections next November.

The number of code of conduct complaints lodged by councillors had escalated “from very few in 2020” to 12 in the past 12 months, costing $40,000 in legal fees and many hours of staff time, she said.

Adelaide City Council chief executive Clare Mockler with Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor and councillors Alexander Hyde, and Phillip Martin. Picture: Brenton Edwards

“Weighing up the volume and cost of the complaints against the relevance and outcomes has resulted in consideration of how best to handle these in my capacity as CEO in the coming year,” Ms Mockler said in an email.

“Based on this year’s trends, I can see the potential for the pace and type of complaints to continue, and also for the code of conduct process to potentially be used to advance electioneering efforts.”

Ms Mockler attached a letter to the email which said she would be “closely assessing each submission for compliance with the criteria and whether there are proper grounds to discontinue a complaint”.

“The next general election will take place in November 2022,” it said.

“In that context, I am particularly conscious that the code of conduct process might lend itself to use as part of the election environment.”

Ms Mockler said the “proximity” of the council elections would be a “relevant matter” when she was considering if complaints would be investigated.

“I ask you to bear in mind that I will, appropriately, have regard to the political and electoral implications of complaints made by, and about, elected members when I conduct my preliminary enquiries between now and the conclusion of the election,” said her letter.

“I do not with to see the complaint process being used to play any part in electioneering.”

There have been numerous code of conduct complaints this year, mostly between members of the council’s dominant Team Adelaide faction and North Adelaide councillors Phillip Martin and Anne Moran.

The most recent involved a flyer distributed about Cr Martin and Cr Moran by South Ward councillor Jessy Khera.

An inquiry by law firm Minter Ellison found while the flyer was not misleading or inaccurate, Cr Khera was disrespectful by sending it to over 1000 residents in North Adelaide.

In her correspondence, Ms Mockler said the end of the year was “a time for reflection”.

Adelaide City Council chief executive Clare Mockler and Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor. Picture: Supplied

“Whether warranted or not, the working relationships between council members (and council staff) and council member conduct, has been the subject of substantial and ongoing publicity and scrutiny,” she said.

“ … I do hope that in 2022 you will all be respectful in your dealings with each other and focus on what you can achieve by working together constructively.

“Your final year as a council provides many opportunities to deliver on your election commitments and our strategic plan for the benefit of our city and for our communities.”

Ms Mockler oversaw an external investigation by law firm EMA Legal which found a toxic culture existed within the council under her predecessor, Mark Goldstone.

A report by EMA Legal described the council as “dysfunctional, frustrating and aggressive”, with strained relationships between some elected members and staff.