Councillor Brooke Patterson must make public apology after complaints by City staffers
Southport councillor Brooke Patterson has been told she must make a public apology and undergo training after complaints by City staffers after a debate in which she robustly defended her position. FULL STORY
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Southport councillor Brooke Patterson must make a public apology and undergo training, after fellow councillors found some official complaints by staffers against her were substantiated.
Ms Patterson was aggressive towards council staff and tried to influence a work experience selection process, an independent investigator had found.
However Ms Patterson robustly defended her position during a full council meeting, claiming the real problem was that “new bureaucrats” had “a more delicate appetite”.
Councillors at the meeting on Tuesday opted against dishing out the toughest penalty available to Ms Patterson, which would have been removing her as governance chair.
They found two of four complaints were substantiated. Ms Patterson was required to leave the meeting while they discussed penalties.
She had left the council chamber before the sanctions were announced just before 5.30pm.
Speaking on behalf of all councillors, senior councillor Peter Young said there was concern for Ms Patterson’s welfare but staffers needed to be protected.
He agreed with the penalties but was concerned by what he said was Ms Patterson’s lack of remorse.
“I think that contrition is necessary. I hope she finds that in her heart,” he said.
A new report showed the Office of independent Assessor (OIA) had referred some complaints back to council, recommending the appointment of an independent third party investigator.
Consultants Ashdale were asked by Mayor Tom Tate, as “council investigator”, to investigate four complaints by staffers against Ms Patterson between January and June 2024. Three were later substantiated by the consultants.
Councillors agreed to Ms Patterson at first staying in the chamber to answer questions.
Mr Tate had to caution her to listen to his instruction to sit down during debate and follow meeting rules.
“In this case I know you are under a lot of pressure, emotionally. Take this as a warning,” he said.
“You are digging a big hole for yourself. From where you are sitting you can’t see it.”
Ms Patterson said she made no apologies for expecting high standards of “capability and capacity” from senior officers leading the organisation.
She said there were no complaints against her from frontline workers “or indeed any staff that are not at a senior pay grade expected to be able to participate in robust conversations and manage conflict with a deal of skill”.
Ms Patterson said the restructure of the City administration during the past three years had led to a “new business culture”.
“The way I used to engage with the previous directors and senior managers was welcomed as straight, robust and intentional. This same behaviour is now considered to be culturally unacceptable by new bureaucrats with a more delicate appetite,” she said.
Ms Patterson added that she would have preferred to be advised of the cultural change in a manner other than a formal complaint against her.
She maintained the restructure had led to “capability gaps” among senior staffers which caused her frustration.
City CEO Tim Baker responded by strongly defending his staffers and rejected Ms Patterson’s criticisms.
“I fundamentally reject any suggestion there’s a deficiency in the management team I lead,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Donna Gates also rejected suggestions of “capability gaps” among the new team.
“I think that’s not a reflection of the organisation we have tried to be since the restructure we all supported,” she said.
Officers at the meeting, responding to questions, were told no other councillor had complaints against them by senior staffers.
But Ms Patterson said she was not the first councillor to receive complaints though the OIA which caused “deep distress to ourselves, our families, and distract from the job at hand of serving our community”.
“(There are) at least four others in the room who have been found to have breached conduct or the more serious charge of misconduct,” she said.
EARLIER
Councillor Brooke Patterson was aggressive towards Council staff and tried to influence a work experience selection process, an independent investigator has found.
Ms Patterson faces being removed as City Governance committee chair if a majority of councillors agree with the findings and vote at Tuesday’s full council meeting to take the toughest action.
Those restrictions were modified in January.
Ms Patterson has previously said she was “rude” to senior staff but strongly defended her conduct, saying she was representing ratepayers.
A new report shows the Office of independent Assessor (OIA) referred some complaints back to council, recommending the appointment of an independent third party investigator.
Consultants Ashdale were asked by Mayor Tom Tate, as “council investigator”, to investigate four complaints against Ms Patterson, between January and June 2024.
Three were later substantiated.
The consultants cost more than $23,000.
Ms Patterson has asked for $10,835 of legal costs to be reimbursed.
The total cost to ratepayers will be almost $34,000.
Ashdale found, on the balance of probabilities, that Ms Patterson had:
* In January 2024 during a meeting break in the director’s room “discourteously yelled and raised her voice” at an officer for being unable to answer a question earlier, with witnesses saying her behaviour was “unacceptable and a cause for embarrassment”. Ms Patterson denied this, saying she was used to “speaking robustly with officers”.
* In May 2024, failed to follow the usual council process and acted unfairly by contacting a senior executive to request work experience for a student interested in urban planning. Investigators said the opportunity to make such a request was “unlikely to be available to the ordinary member of the public”. Ms Patterson later apologised to the officer saying “I just have this thing about rudeness, so I’m glad I have this opportunity to say I’m sorry”.
* In June 2024 behaved inappropriately towards council staff and was “disruptive” regarding emails about a homeless person near James Overell Park. Employees recalled five emails within two days, with the Councillor saying “sending me an update saying you have no update is not an update”. Ms Patterson maintained she was courteous, and requests for updates were reasonable. Investigators found she had acted “inappropriately”.
A fourth allegation, not substantiated, alleged Ms Patterson was disrespectful during a phone conversation with an officer about parking concessions for the Surfers Paradise Bridge Club.
The officer alleged the councillor had raised her voice, talked over and interrupted her, accusing her of being incompetent.
She allegedly told the officer it would have been nice if she had “done her job right in the first place”. Ms Patterson said she had told the officer “it would have been really nice” if the information was provided earlier.
The disciplinary options for councillors include taking no action, reprimanding the councillor, or order that they attend training or counselling.
They can require the councillor be removed or resigns from a position like committee chair.
A City officer report suggests councillors consider that Ms Patterson is an experienced councillor. She had a previous record for inappropriate conduct in June 2023, which involved remarks to owners of a body corporate complex.
“Councillor Patterson co-operated with the investigation. Councillor Patterson did not appear to demonstrate insight into the appropriate nature of her conduct,” an officer report says.
In January in a Facebook update, Ms Patterson strongly defended her conduct.
“I concede that I didn’t do things in a number of matters and I was rude to people when I was passionate, and concerned and disappointed on your behalf,” she said.
“But there are ways for us to deal with that – I don’t think the OIA is the way to deal with that,” she said.
The Bulletin has reached out to Ms Patterson for further comment.
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