Operation Yabber report: Mayor Tom Tate denies any misconduct

The contents of a submission from Mayor Tom Tate to the CCC has been revealed in the Operation Yabber report released today.

MAYOR Tom Tate in a submission to the corruption watchdog has denied any wrong doing or inappropriate conduct.

The report on Operation Yabber, delivered today, showed the CCC’s investigation focused largely on the relationship between Mayor Tom Tate, his chief of staff Wayne Moran and council CEO Dale Dickson.

The report refers to numerous emails between the three involving alleged conflict of interest involving Mr Moran. The Mayor’s chief of staff is on leave, on full pay, pending an investigation.

Back in June 2012 — a meeting between Mayor Tom Tate and chief of staff Wayne Moran.

“As indicated in Mayor Tate’s submission, he denies any breach of council policies, inappropriate conduct and misconduct,” the CCC report said.

“He denies the allegations against him that are referred to in the report. Mayor Tate is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

“The OIA (Office of Independent Assessor) is currently considering some matters and has not yet come to a conclusion about whether or not some of the referrals to it referred to in this report constitute inappropriate conduct or misconduct.

“Only one of the referrals has yet resulted in the OIA making a decision about whether or not the OIA will refer any allegation of misconduct to the Councillor Conduct Tribunal (CCT) or any allegation of inappropriate conduct to the GCCC for investigation and referral to the CCT.

“Moreover, the referral to the GCCC in relation to Mr Moran has not yet been resolved.

“The CCC cautions against drawing adverse inferences against Mayor Tate and Mr Moran from the fact that any related proceedings or processes which might follow from the CCC’s referral of matters to the OIA or GCCC remain unresolved.”

Mayoral Chief of Staff Wayne Moran looks down at the media at a press conference in the foyer of Gold Coast City Council Chambers at Evandale. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

The report revealed that during the course of the investigation, allegations were investigated about Cr Tate and Mr Moran related to:

* Mr Moran involving himself in matters before council that involved companies for whom Mr Moran had previously performed paid work and or whose directors had close personal relationships with him.

* Councillor Tate directing the CEO not to take disciplinary action against Mr Moran for failing to declare a conflict of interest.

* Cr Tate’s misuse of section 170 (Giving Directions To Local Government Staff) of the Local Government Act 2009 to direct the CEO in relation to a disciplinary process involving Mr Moran.

“The allegations brought to light the problematic nature of the relationships between the Mayor, his Chief of Staff, and the CEO, and the adverse impact those relationships had on the GCCC and its employees,” the report said.

Cr Tate’s lawyers, in a submission contained in the report, said on December 10 the OIA had written to Mayor Tate in relation to three allegations.

“In respect of those three allegations, Mayor Tate and his advisers have written to the OIA denying any breach of council policies, inappropriate conduct, misconduct and Mayor Tate’s obligations in relation to his register of interests,” Cr Tate’s lawyers said.

“To date, the OIA has not responded to that correspondence or resolved to make any allegation of inappropriate conduct or misconduct arising from those allegations.”

Wayne Moran and Tom Tate attending a meeting at the Mayor's Office in Southport in 2018. Picture: Jerad Williams.

Local Government Association of Queensland CEO Greg Hallam has welcomed the report and indicated it was now time to move the agenda on.

“We need to find a balance between continual investigation and review and enabling councils to get on with the job they were given to do by mandate of their communities,” Mr Hallam said.

“We already have a Department of Local Government, an Ombudsman, an Auditor-General and an Office of the Independent Assessor, all with significant powers to oversee administrative matters.

“There should be no need for a fifth body in the CCC to also pass judgment on areas of local government administration that are beyond what the watchdog is resourced to consider.

“The ultimate arbiters of performance and integrity, the people, will have their say when they cast their vote at the council elections on March 28.”