Councillor fined over leaked confidential information

An under-fire council north of Brisbane has had one of its councillors fined for leaking information amid three separate ongoing crime and corruption investigations.

Moreton Bay councillor Adam Hain has been fined over misconduct by the Office of the Independent Assessor.

MORETON Bay region councillor Adam Hain has been ordered to make a public admission of misconduct after he released confidential information to a ‘community group member’.

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The councillor for Caboolture (Div2) will pay a $250 fine and undergo counselling after the Office of the Independent Assessor’s (OIA) Councillor Conduct Tribunal found Cr Hain had engaged in misconduct.

The OIA released a statement this morning which said the incident arose after Cr Hain had been provided with materials marked as confidential during a closed council workshop last November.

He then called a community group member to discuss possible changes to divisional boundaries discussed in the meeting.

The Tribunal took into account that Cr Hain was a first-term councillor, had no disciplinary history, co-operated with the OIA and demonstrated and understanding of what processes should be followed in the future.

Moreton Bay councillor Adrian Raedel (left) and councillor Adam Hain (right) making a joint announcement in Morayfield earlier this year.

This comes three days after Moreton Bay Regional Council CEO Daryl Hitzman quit on Tuesday amid three separate investigations by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

Division 12 councillor Adrian Raedel was charged with one count of official corruption over allegations involving a long-time donor, Tosh Murphy.

Mr Murphy was charged by the CCC over the same matter on July 26.

Mayor Allan Sutherland is under investigation in relation to his ownership of a property at Burpengary and the CCC is investigating a multimillion-dollar contract with events company Moreton Bay Region Industry & Tourism. No charges have been laid in regard to these investigations.

Cr Hain fine does not relate to the CCC investigations. He has been contacted for comment.