Gold Coast City Council CEO job advertised: Dale Dickson contract to go to market

The Gold Coast’s highest paid job, the position of chief executive officer at council, is to be advertised. Could this be the end of Dale Dickson’s 13-year reign?

THE Gold Coast’s highest paid job at council, the position of chief executive officer, is to be advertised.

Could this be the end of Dale Dickson’s 13-year reign? What politics played out here?

The decision to advertise the CEO’s job was a shock even to seasoned council observers.

After the Crime and Corruption Commission’s Operation Yabber report, it was expected Mayor Tom Tate would rubber stamp an extension of Mr Dickson’s contract.

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Council CEO Dale Dickson — pondering his future employment.

His three-year-plus deal ends on September next year. Council annual reports suggest his salary is between $600,000 to $700,000 – higher than Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s.

The former top Aussie rules player guided the city through the 2018 Commonwealth Games and was, on the reading of the CCC report, a respected witness in their evidence gathering.

Surely he was at short odds to captain the administration during COVID-19.

Dale Dickson playing for the Brisbane Lions in 1988 or 1989. Picture: Brisbane Lions AFC

Mr Dickson’s employment future was discussed behind closed doors as the last item at a marathon full council meeting on July 28.

The meeting rambled on late into the night – so late that the minutes were not written up on the screen when councillors returned to open session. The Bulletin asked the next day for the recommendations on the “Staff Matter”.

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Closer examination of the minutes shows a one-page confidential memorandum that “was not tabled for discussion”. Sources say it related to an email sent by Cr Tate to councillors.

The Mayor’s preference was to re-sign their star administrative player.

He had asked councillors to allow the Office of the Mayor to oversee talks on the CEO’s key performance indicators and the contract.

A council insider suggests the councillors, behind closed doors during the debate, did not express an opinion, as such, about the CEO. Much of the discussion was about the “process”. By reading the five-point resolution – it is our only guide – that much is clear.

Early photograph of Dale Dickson outside the old chambers at Evandale.

The council is to “commence a process for the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer”, which differs from council saying it is to “commence a process for recruitment”.

This makes it obvious Mr Dickson is not to be excluded from applying for the position.

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The resolution also recommends the process be “managed by the Office of the Mayor and that appropriate external support and professional appointment, legal and other advice be retained”.

The Office of the Mayor must also liaise with the Local Government Department.

“This all about more transparency in the appointment process,” a council insider said.

The motion was carried unanimously. Only Cr Glenn Tozer was absent from the meeting.

Back in 2012 — Dale Dickson with Mayor Tom Tate.

So are all councillors in favour of Mr Dickson continuing on after September? The only reasonable answer, given there is no vote, is some support him more than others.

Has the Mayor been overruled after moving to have Mr Dickson’s contract renewed? Again the only reasonable answer is Cr Tate voted with his councillors, so he willingly accepted their advice.

Will Mr Dickson front up to a tough interview panel? This is where it gets interesting.

Weighing up what he would consider his contribution to the city, add the likelihood he discovered about his future through a council resolution, it would be reasonable to believe he would hesitate before wanting to kick another goal for team Gold Coast City.