City of Melbourne council revolt over secret Kos Samaras research program

Most Melbourne councillors were unaware a political strategy and lobbying firm has been running secretive research into ‘potentially sensitive matters’ for council chiefs for at least two years.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp and City of Melbourne chiefs are facing an internal backlash from a number of councillors. Picture: Mark Stewart

Most Melbourne councillors were unaware a political strategy and lobbying firm has been running secretive research into ‘‘potentially sensitive matters’’ for council chiefs for at least two years.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp and City of Melbourne chiefs are facing an internal backlash from a number of councillors who learned about the program run by The RedBridge Group when it was revealed by The Australian.

Councillors expressed surprise and unhappiness over being kept in the dark about RedBridge’s work when Ms Capp informed them this week about the program ahead of Thursday’s news report.

‘‘Councillors weren’t aware, they’re pretty pissed off,’’ one source said.

‘‘They’re keen to know what the council has commissioned, and why that hasn’t been shared with elected councillors.’’

Several councillors have demanded City of Melbourne chiefs provide an urgent briefing on RedBridge’s research and analysis conducted for the council since January 2021, which has generated 101 documents of data and analysis. Ms Capp has declined to answer questions about RedBridge’s work for the city which has cost ratepayers $77,000 up to September 2022.

The council spent eight months processing a Freedom of Information request from The Australian for the release communications between RedBridge and the Melbourne council. In withholding the 101 documents – believed to run to more than 700 pages – the council said their release would ‘‘completely undermine the independence’’ of its decision making.

‘‘The disclosure of communications designed to inform those strategies would completely undermine the independence of that process and inhibit the ability of council to make decisions in a way that balances the views and interests of all affected participants,’’ the council stated in its letter of rejection.

‘‘Disclosure would inhibit the ability of the council to obtain full and unimpeded advice on potentially sensitive matters affecting the broader community.’’

The council warns that releasing the 101 documents would ‘‘be likely to give spurious standing to documents or promote pointless and captious debate on what might or should have happened rather than what did”.

RedBridge is a registered lobbying firm founded by Labor Party strategist Kos Samaras.