Bundaberg mayor Jack Dempsey made “unauthorised disclosure” of parliamentary documents

Bundaberg’s mayor has been found guilty of contempt of parliament after obtaining confidential documents from a councillor that he said contained “serious allegations” about him.

A state government Ethics Committee found that Bundaberg mayor Jack Dempsey made an “unauthorised disclosure” of confidential parliamentary documents.

A state government investigation has found Bundaberg Regional Council Mayor Jack Dempsey guilty of contempt of parliament in an explosive decision revealed on Thursday.

The Ethics Committee found Mr Dempsey obtained a confidential submission made by councillor Greg Barnes to the State Development and Regional Industries Committee in 2021, because he believed it contained a complaint against him. This is a finding by a parliamentary committee, it is not a finding of criminal conduct.

According to the report published on Thursday, Mr Barnes told the state development committee he had not told anyone about his submission and “surmised” Mr Dempsey may have learnt about it through “a person accessing his emails”.

The report said that during a private hearing on March 8, 2022, Mr Dempsey said he requested a copy of the submission from council CEO Steve Johnston and it was provided under the Acceptable Requests Policy.

Mr Dempsey said he thought he was “obliged to seek access to the document” because he was required to self-report any complaint made against him to the Independent Assessor.

He said he was not aware they were protected under parliamentary privilege.

Once he received the report and confirmed it contained complaints about him, Mr Dempsey sought to provide the document to the Office of the Independent Assessor and the Crime and Corruption Commission.

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Mayor Jack Dempsey obtained confidential parliamentary documents submitted by Councillor Greg Barnes to the State Development and Regional Industries Committee.

“The submission by Councillor Barnes contains serious allegations which I totally reject, “ Mr Dempsey told the hearing on March 8.

“I appreciate that the submission was not published.”

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The inquiry found that the fact that Mr Dempsey had obtained legal advice prior to requesting the documents and appearing before the SDRIC showed he was aware they were confidential.

It also rejected Mr Dempsey’s claim that he had an obligation to obtain any document containing allegations of corrupt conduct against him.

“Mayor Dempsey could not be certain what Cr Barnes’ submission contained,” the report reads.

“There is no statutory obligation in the LGA for a local government official to ‘seek out’ material that might evidence misconduct. Rather, it is if a local government official becomes aware of such information.”

The investigation found Mr Dempsey was guilty of contempt of parliament because he obtained and distributed confidential documents and made an unauthorised disclosure of committee proceedings.

Councillor Greg Barnes said he was glad that the matter has been finalised.

As penalty, Mr Dempsey was asked to provide a written apology to the SDRIC which he did in a May 12 email.

“I have a deep respect for the institution of parliament and its committees,” Mr Dempsey wrote.

“To the extent that the disclosure of the document was unauthorised … I apologise.”

Chief executive Mr Johnston was found not guilty of contempt in obtaining the submission due to the protections of the Acceptable Requests Guidelines.

Mr Dempsey and Bundaberg Regional Council have been contacted for a response.

Mr Barnes told this publication it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the Ethics Committee’s findings.

“ … That is entirely a matter for the parliament and I respect their decision,” Mr Barnes said.

“It has been a stressful time for myself and my family, and I’m glad it has been finalised.”