Policy to impose tougher restrictions on interactions between Cairns councillors and developers
Exchanging text messages with a developer during an ordinary meeting will be one of several acts outlawed under a new policy set to be approved by Cairns councillors this week.
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Exchanging text messages with a developer during an ordinary meeting will be one of several acts outlawed under a new policy set to be approved by Cairns councillors this week.
Cairns Regional Council will vote to adopt new guidelines this Wednesday, establishing clear rules for when councillors can meet with stakeholders during, and prior to, a development application being lodged.
Under the proposed eight-page document, meetings with developers about a project must be organised through the council’s planning department, or chief executive, Ken Gouldthorp.
A third-party is also required to attend any such meeting with written records to be provided to the CEO’s office.
“Councillors must remain objective and impartial … ensuring decisions are based on evidence, fairness, and public interest rather than personal or political influence,” the document states.
“Given their position of authority, it is critical that councillors uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability, fostering public trust and confidence in the planning system.”
Under the guidelines, councillors “must not direct, or attempt to direct, a council officer” when assessing and reporting on a development application.
Further, it is “generally not appropriate” for councillors to interact with developers when the application is decided by council officers under delegation.
The council’s tightening of its policy follows concerns raised by council officers, executives and some councillors around protecting the integrity of the development application process.
In August last year, mayor Amy Eden swapped texts with a Cairns developer during an ordinary meeting where a major development permit was approved on the northern beaches.
Ms Eden even read out aloud responses to matters raised by the developer directly during the meeting.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by either Ms Eden or the developer.
The policy is one of the final documents overseen by the council’s outgoing planning director, Ed Johnson, who has joined Toowoomba Regional Council.
Mr Johnson, who finished up on Friday, spearheaded the council’s controversial plans to declare the city’s stagnant southern growth corridor a Priority Development Area.
The proposed $450m development aims to build more than 18,000 dwellings in the 3300ha site.
The council’s media policy forbids councillors and its employees from speaking to the media about agenda items prior to an ordinary meeting.
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Originally published as Policy to impose tougher restrictions on interactions between Cairns councillors and developers
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