Liverpool council to request for interim report removed from public record

A southwest Sydney council will attempt to remove a damning interim report alleging “widespread dysfunction” from the public record amid a looming threat from the state government to suspend council and postpone the upcoming elections.

Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun (left) and Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig.

A southwest Sydney council will attempt to remove a damning interim report alleging “widespread dysfunction” from the public record amid a looming threat from the state government to suspend council and postpone the upcoming elections.

Liverpool council will appear before the Land and Environment Court on Thursday and request for the Office of Local Government to drop their intention to suspend council, the September elections to proceed and for the report to be “expunged from the public record”.

Council is also taking legal action against the Office of Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig, deputy secretary Brett Whitworth and Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure secretary and former Liverpool council CEO Kiersten Fishburn claiming they exhibited “actual bias or apprehended bias.”

Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

An additional order will be sought to set aside Mr Hoenig’s decision to appoint barrister Ross Glover as Commissioner to hold a public inquiry into Liverpool Council.

This comes after council voted to commence legal proceedings against the state government during an extraordinary meeting on Monday, four days after Mr Hoenig announced a public inquiry into the council following the report.

The interim report compiled evidence over three months detailing allegations of “senior staff in the development assessment department” putting pressure on workers to determine applications to “boost the number of determinations reported to the state government”.

According to the report, the assessment process was often allegedly “rushed” and applications which were likely to be approved, were “unnecessarily refused”.

NSW Minister for local government Ron Hoenig. Picture: Nikki Short.

Court documents state Mr Hoenig acted with “partiality and exhibited actual or apprehended bias and is disqualified from exercising his powers to appoint the public inquiry” in publishing the report.

Liverpool council will allege Mr Hoenig – who was previously a councillor and mayor of Botany Bay City council – “must have known the interim report was prepared in breach of the requirements of procedural fairness”.

“If published (the interim report) would traduce reputations to the detriment of the applicant and the individuals, yet participated in its publication,” court documents state.

Council will argue the interim report was published before the completion of the investigation and there was “no power to report on the investigation until its completion.”

Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun (right) voting in favour of his motion alongside acting chief executive Jason Brenton on Monday.

“The report made serious allegations against the Applicant (Liverpool council) and at least 16 individuals, including findings of illegal and improper conduct,” court documents state.

“None of those allegations and the material (if any) on which they were based had

been notified to the Applicant (council) or those individuals, and no opportunity was afforded

to respond to them.”

Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun said during Monday’s extraordinary council meeting the report was “flawed in numerous ways” and the timing showed it was a “purely political play by the Labor government”.

“Making this report 50 days before an election is completely undemocratic, the citizens have a right to choose who they want to represent them,” Mr Mannoun said.

“I am the one who caught more mud in this chamber than anyone else, and I am confident enough to go to the people because I know the people aren’t stupid”.

Council’s deadline to respond to the interim report has been extended by the Office of Local Government to July 31.