Queensland councillor Dan Stewart slugged with misconduct ruling on Facebook

A Queensland councillor has found himself in hot water over his social media posts for a third time after revealing the existence of a confidential deal in the wake of a staff member’s departure.

Gympie councillor Dan Stewart has been found by a state tribunal to have engaged in misconduct over a Facebook post.

Gympie councillor Dan Stewart’s social media page has landed him in hot water again after he revealed the existence of a secret deal with former CEO Shane Gray.

Mr Stewart made the comment on January 7, 2022, in response to a question about Mr Grey’s resignation shortly after a closed doors council meeting.

He was asked by a follower “why is the [staff member] gone? Surely the public are entitled to know?”

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Mr Stewart replied “there is a confidentiality clause as part of the voluntary separation agreement”.

The state government’s Councillor Conduct Tribunal found Mr Stewart had engaged in misconduct by revealing the existence of this deal.

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Councillor Dan Stewart’s Facebook post landed him in hot water.

The CCT’s published ruling says the settlement “contained clauses relating to confidentiality, including that both the existence and the terms of the Settlement Deed were to remain confidential to the parties”.

A clause within the agreement said “the existence and the terms of this Deed are confidential,” the report says.

It says Mr Stewart “knew, or should reasonably have known” this agreement was confidential as the council had previously agreed to keep the meeting, and documents, confidential.

“The wording of the public resolution did not disclose the existence of the Settlement Deed or the confidentiality clause,” the CCT’s report says.

The release of this information by Mr Stewart happened after the council had agreed to it, but before it was signed.

Mr Stewart did not contest the facts.

Mr Stewart said the comment was an “inadvertent error”, the report says “as he believed at the time he was ‘defending the need for confidentiality’”.

It is the third time Councillor Dan Stewart’s Facebook posts have been found to have breached the rules since he was elected in 2016.

“(Mr Stewart) considered his Facebook comments to be ‘defending council and staff in such situations rather than being belligerent’”.

In a statement on Tuesday he said he had disclosed a piece of confidential information and “engaged in misconduct”.

It is the third time Mr Stewart’s Facebook page has landed him in hot water.

In 2016 he was found to have engaged in misconduct after revealing on a Facebook page the council had discussed the purchase of the Gympie Golf Club in a closed session of an ordinary meeting.

In December 2020 he was fined $700 over a post announcing the venue for an annual campervan and motorhome rally that was to be held in that year.

Gympie councillors will vote on the CCT ruling, and punishment.

The council’s own report recommends Mr Stewart make a public admission of his misconduct at the next meeting, attend training to address the problem, and reimburse the council 25 per cent of the cost incurred by the council.