Clarence Valley Council passes councillor Karen Toms’ notice of motion directed at community group Yamba CAN

A Clarence group is in the middle of a bitter council divide as it pushes for freedom of information releases. One councillor criticised what she called the “unreasonable” actions of some and says she is “sick” of copping it.

Yamba is a popular coastal town in the Clarence Valley.

A Clarence Valley community group has found itself in the middle of a bitter council divide.

It follows a “circuit breaker” motion put forward by a councillor alleging she was being “harassed” and was “sick” of it.

At this week’s Clarence Valley Council meeting, councillor Karen Toms tabled a notice of motion (NOM) directed at Yamba CAN (Community Action Network).

The organisation is based in the coastal getaway and its purpose is to “advocate and maintain a vibrant township”, according to a vision statement.

Yamba CAN secretary Lynne Cairns and chairman Col Shephard.

Ms Toms’ motion would see council provide information on resources needed to respond to Yamba CAN’s GIPA (Government Information Public Access) and RFI (Request for Information) inquiries.

The council would also detail the cost implication of delays to the contentious Yamba Community Precinct project.

At the public meeting, Ms Toms said Yamba CAN’s requests for information were “continually causing a great deal of extra work” for council staff, “which costs money”.

Clarence councillor Karen Toms. Picture: Adam Hourigan.

She alleged at the meeting that members of Yamba CAN were “negatively slandering certain councillors” on social media and “having a go at us all the time”.

“If they think that there’s criminal activity … if they think there’s a wrongdoing then there’s a proper process to go through, not continual emails, not continual Facebook posts that slander councillors … that’s not the proper way to do business,” she said.

“I’m sick of being harassed, threatened,” she added.

“You think it’s a joke but it isn’t a joke … (and) it’s got to stop so I’m hoping this might be a circuit breaker”.

It is also understood Yamba CAN has received a separate defamation concerns notice from Clarence Valley Council’s general manager Laura Black.

Other councillors hit back against the motion and told the meeting it would take away from the council’s transparency.

Councillor William ‘Bill’ Day described the notice as “offensive” and said it “belongs in the trash can”.

“This motion is just the first step in restricting public access to council information … (it) is based on revenge,” he said.

Councillor Greg Clancy said the notice would use up council time and money.

He said there were 22 GIPA requests on the council’s website and only six related to Yamba CAN.

Councillor Greg Clancy spoke against the NOM.

Speaking after the vote, Yamba CAN secretary Lynne Cairns said the motion was “very restrictive”.

She said it did not require the council to provide information on other matters relating to the group, such as the number of times the Information and Privacy Commission has sided with Yamba CAN.

Ms Cairns said the group has been “trying to ensure that council are more transparent and accountable”.

“I think we’re being targeted … ,” she said.

Yamba CAN advocates for the popular Clarence town (pictured).

However, Ms Toms refuted that allegation in a statement sent to NewsLocal.

“I’m not targeting Yamba CAN,” she said.

“They are a relatively new community group. However, the amount of letters, emails (and) GIPA requests, in my opinion, is unreasonable.”

Ms Toms said there were “hidden costs” related to dealing with the group’s demands.

She said she was not restricting the right to information and laws were in place to ensure people can access and seek information as needed.

The NOM passed narrowly, with the council split five votes to four.

Councillors who voted in opposition were Greg Clancy, Ian Tiley, William Day and Deputy Mayor Jeff Smith.