Gympie council refuses to release Hartwig investigation report

The Gympie council has refused to release a report on the investigation into Mayor Glen Hartwig’s breach of the rules.

Gympie Regional Council says it will not release a report into Mayor Glen Hartwig, which found “sufficient evidence” he had engaged in inappropriate conduct.

Gympie Regional Council says it has no intention of releasing a redacted report into the investigation of inappropriate conduct by Mayor Glen Hartwig, as details of the matter remain a mystery.

Mr Hartwig was found to have engaged in inappropriate conduct following a third party investigation, which concluded there was “sufficient evidence”(of inappropriate conduct), according to unconfirmed minutes from the council’s October 26 meeting.

Councillors voted 3-2 to support the findings after four elected representatives – including Mr Hartwig – left the room after declaring conflicts of interest.

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After accepting the report’s finding, the remaining councillors voted for no further punishment to be taken.

However, the details of Mr Hartwig’s breach remain unclear.

Details of Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig’s inappropriate conduct remain a mystery, with a council spokesman saying the councillor conduct register will not be updated until the minutes from the October 26 meeting are confirmed, which is expected to occur at the end of November.

A council spokesman said the councillor conduct register would not be updated until the minutes from the October meeting were confirmed.

This is expected to happen at the November 23 meeting.

“Once the minutes are confirmed, the decision and confirmed minutes will be made available on council’s website for the public to view,” the spokesman said.

“The unconfirmed minutes which mention this matter are available for the public to view in the interim.”

In September 2020, Gympie councillors voted to release a redacted version of a 36-page report, which cleared Mr Hartwig of inappropriate conduct relating to letters to the editor sent to The Gympie Times during his time as the councillor for Division 2.

Gympie councillors voted in September 2020 to release a redacted version of a report clearing Mayor Glen Hartwig of inappropriate conduct as part of their decision-making on the matter, but no such clause was included in the October 2022 motion relating to the latest investigation at which he was found to have engaged in inappropriate conduct.

The decision to release the report was included as part of a suite of adopted recommendations at that meeting.

No such clause was included as part of the October 26, 2022 motion adopting the findings of the latest investigation.

The council on Tuesday declined a request for a redacted copy of the investigation.

“Council will not be providing a redacted copy of the investigation report,” the spokesman said.

The report could be sought under a Right to Information request, he said, noting “there are exemption provisions under the Right to Information Act 2009 to protect essential public interests or the personal or business information of others”.