Dubbo councillor Dayne Gumley quits Dubbo Regional Council

A former councillor has suddenly quit from an embattled council in NSW saying “we need a broom through this place”, in a surprise move made just minutes before a council meeting began.

Former Dubbo councillor Dayne Gumley says he made a snap decision to resign from his position after he received a briefing from independent investigators who outlined the “seriousness” of the council’s failure to properly handle complaints.

On Monday afternoon, councillors were invited to a private briefing with investigators from Pinnacle Integrity who were tasked with assessing how the council had been handling complaints made between 2017 and 2021.

Dubbo councillor Dayne Gumley said his position was untenable. Picture: Ryan Young

Councillors had received a copy of the final damning report prepared by the investigators and Mr Gumley said they were talked through the findings and recommendations at the briefing.

“I have to admit when I read the report, I didn’t think the contents of it were particularly serious,” Mr Gumley told The Dubbo News.

“I thought that it outlined a number of mistakes that council had made in relation to handling of certain code of conduct matters. On the face of it, my interpretation was ‘council has dropped the ball and we need to tidy up our procedures and figure out more accurate role descriptions’ the end.

“Listening to the investigators, getting some more information from them, it just occurred to me, the seriousness of not handling the code of conduct matters in accordance with the procedures.”

Mr Gumley said after listening to the investigators he concluded council’s failings were “significantly serious matters”.

“The community already have question marks over the effectiveness of this council and the trust they can have in this council.

“With the revelations of the serious nature of the report I just thought my position as a councillor was untenable.

“We are the council, the community sees us as the council, these things occurred under our watch and we have to take some level of responsibility for it and show the community it’s not just a matter of ‘not my fault blame someone else’, I’m an elected representative I don’t think the community broadly has confidence in the council and I just thought it was the right decision to make.”

Dubbo mayor Stephen Lawrence said Mr Gumley‘s resignation was a surprise. Picture: Ryan Young

The report has been kept confidential and council has asked for more legal advice to see if it can be released to the public, however Mayor Stephen Lawrence told Monday’s meeting there had been findings made that unauthorised people had made decisions about code of conduct complaints and serious alleged breaches of the council’s code of conduct had not been dealt with properly.

Councillors have also not seen some parts of the report, Mr Gumley revealed.

“There were two parts of the report that councillors did not receive, they were highly confidential and forwarded to the CEO,” he said.

“That’s because councillors are not entitled, under the law, to see the contents of that information.

“If the investigator during their investigation, found things that warranted referral, or that they thought were breaches of the law, then of course they refer those matters to the CEO for consideration.”

Mr Gumley said his resignation was completely unplanned.

“I didn’t discuss it with anybody, I sent Greg Mohr a message, he was sitting next to me in the briefing, but he didn’t see the message,” Mr Gumley said.

“It was personal, I didn’t need to be talked out of it.

“I messaged the CEO during the briefing with my intention and formalised it last night via email.”

Dubbo Regional Council has been issued a performance improvement order by the state government. Picture: Facebook/Dubbo Regional Council

The current council would forever be remembered for the “drama” that engulfed it throughout most of 2021, Mr Gumley said.

“It is sad because there’s lots of positive things that have been achieved in this term of council but the reality is people won’t remember that.

“The community will see a complete debacle that ended this council, the agony is just prolonged and prolonged. From having the election postponed from last year to this year and now until later in the year, it’s just become tiresome.

“All of those achievements will be overshadowed by the drama and the contents of this report, it’s inescapable.”

When asked if the investigation into council’s handling of complaints would have happened had Cr Lawrence and others not gone public demanding it, Mr Gumley said it could have.

“The way that the other councillors approached the issue, I still don’t agree with,” he said.

“The report could have come about still, without the drama and the way the other councillors conducted themselves.

“We talk about a report to investigate proper process and that’s kind of the irony of the whole sorry story. My view of proper process was not adhered to in bringing about this whole situation.”

Cr Lawrence said it was a “surprise” to learn of Mr Gumley’s resignation.

“We’ve had our stoushes over the years … he’s someone that I respect and I wish him all the best,” Cr Lawrence said.

After previously confirming he would stand for re-election, Mr Gumley said he was now undecided about his future.

“I’m considering my position, I haven’t come to a position either way in that regard,” he said.

“We need to put a broom through the place and the next election can’t come soon enough.”