Commissioner gives up offering integrity advice

Local government integrity laws are so complex that the Queensland Integrity Commissioner says she’s had to stop giving advice to councillors on how to follow the rules.

Local government integrity laws are so complex that the Queensland Integrity Commissioner says she’s had to stop giving advice to councillors on how to follow the rules.

Nikola Stepanov, whose job is to provide ethical guidance to the state’s politicians, has told a parliamentary inquiry the “complexity and newness” of legislation passed in 2020 meant even experts couldn’t agree on how to follow the law.

The inquiry is investigating whether Queensland’s under-pressure council watchdog, the Office of the Independent Assessor, is applying its powers in the public interest and operating in the spirit of legislation, following public outcry over its actions.

Queensland Integrity Commissioner Nikola Stepanov. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jono Searle

That has included claims the OIA have threatened the free speech and careers of local representatives, allowed complaints to be weaponised, and used extraordinary powers to demand journalists sell out sources.

Ms Stepanov said there was limited case law on how to apply and interpret the “novel and untested” interest provisions, including on where the threshold was for an offence.

“As the conflict of interest provisions are now complex, highly nuanced, and reasonably untested, the QIC has declined to provide advice to individual councillors on how the provisions might apply,” she said.

“The QIC is of the view that the interest issues of mayors and councillors are no longer substantively an ‘ethics or integrity’ issue but rather a matter of legal interpretation.”

She said there were “differing views” on interpretation, application, codes and standards following almost rolling reforms, and part-time councillors of varying backgrounds might find them particularly hard to navigate alone.

Head of the OIA, Kathleen Florian. Picture: Liam Kidston

“In the experience of the QIC, in this regard, there is seemingly dissent even amongst experts,” Ms Stepanov said.

She said any further reforms, resources or training programs “must not be so ambiguous or complex as to make it harder for mayors and councillors to fulfil their obligations” as that was ”not in the public interest”.

The Local Government Association of Queensland made 18 recommendations including for the OIA to automatically reject anonymous complaints and set targets for investigation time frames.

It also wants the Local Government Minister to amend the code of conduct to “expressly” ensure it does not impugn councillors’ right to freedom of political expression.

LGAQ chief executive Alison Smith.

“Regulating councillor conduct is critical, but the current approach has gone too far and is becoming counter-productive and unworkable,” LGAQ chief executive Alison Smith wrote.

“Elected local government representatives are unsure of their obligations and, in many cases, afraid to do their job effectively and as they were elected to do, to represent their community at the local government level.”

Councils raised concerns about the time being taken by the OIA to finalise complaints.

Brisbane City Council’s acting chief executive Scott Stewart wrote that some delays were “unreasonable” while also claiming the legal provisions and standards of behaviour in the code of conduct were too broad which led to “permitted behaviours” being unnecessarily captured.