Darling Downs Environmental Council lodges complaint against Toowoomba Regional Council over legal advice to councillors

A complaint has been issued to Toowoomba Council after councillors would not say whether or not they supported some issues at public forums during the election campaign – saying they could be denied a vote if they did.

Toowoomba deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff and mayor Geoff McDonald discuss the council's request for $90m from both the state and federal governments to help pay for the Cressbrook Dam safety upgrades.

An environmental organisation has submitted a complaint to Toowoomba Regional Council after a number of councillors “erred on the side of caution” by refusing to express their stance on key issues during the election campaign.

The Darling Downs Environment Council co-ordinator Ahri Tallon said the refusal for councillors to answer questions on key issues or contentious topics at community forums and using legal advice as an excuse left him concerned that voters would not know what their potential leaders stood for.

“The DDEC is very concerned about the advice given by the council organisation to councillors inferring that they could not publicly declare their positions on different matters during elections,” DDEC co-ordinator Ahri Tallon said.

“The public needs to know what different council candidates stand for on important issues just as they get to with candidates in our state and federal democracies.”

Before lodging the formal complaint with council on April 4, 2024, DDEC received advice from both the Queensland Department of Local Government and the Environmental Defender’s Office, which agreed that “campaigning or stating support for a matter during a local government election, does not in itself give rise to a conflict of interest if the person is elected”.

Candidate councillor Rebecca Vonhoff speaking at Toowoomba Decides Toowoomba Regional Council candidate forum at Toowoomba Turf Club, Thursday, March 7, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The complaint relates to the DDEC candidates forum on February 20, 2024, Mayor Geoff McDonald, used his two minute introduction and said as the current mayor it was important for him to “set the rules” as councillors are governed by the Local Government Act.

He stated he would “err on the side of caution” after attending a meeting “close to eight hours” that same day which “a lot of that time was taken up mostly around conflict of interest”.

“We’re not trying to dodge whether it’s a yes or no, the fact remains that if councillors are seen to indicate in public forums such as this, a vote yes or no to a particular item, they could very well see themselves out of the room for a decision,” he told the forum.

Councillor Rebecca Vonhoff and Councillor Bill Cahill both noted the concern when they raised hands to comment on if they supported environmental bylaws or temporary local planning instruments.

“I don’t feel like I’m prejudicing myself in answering this question because I supported the TLPI at the time,” Ms Vonhoff said.

Mr Cahill said he didn’t “mind going on the public record” stating he wanted to “revisit the TPLI”.

When asked on the spot about whether he supports taking action to mitigate climate change, Mr McDonald referenced his earlier comments and said he “erred on the side of caution about whether I would support something or not”.

A few weeks later at the Toowoomba Decides candidates forum on March 7, Ms Vonhoff, initially voted yes by way of a yes/no paddle on whether the focus of council should remain on roads, rates and rubbish.

When the next question came up about whether council divisions should be introduced in the 2028 council elections, she requested the microphone and told the forum that expressing an opinion could prejudice potential future votes.

The comments were later contended by the University of Queensland’s Law Professor Graeme Orr, who argued the LGA didn’t preclude candidates from giving their opinions on potential issues or policies.

“Nothing in the Local Government Act suggests candidates can’t be put on the spot about whether they favour a policy or issue,” he said.

“Nor are they bound by a position if they later learn more about it.”

Councillor Kerry Shine, who has been vocal about a number of projects and initiatives like the Quarry Gardens and used the paddles during the Toowoomba Decides forum, disagreed that giving his stance on an issue would preclude him from being able to vote on them if they came to a vote.

When asked if he had received word of the complaint and wanted to comment, Mr McDonald said he could not comment as he did not know about it.

Toowoomba Regional Council and Ms Vonhoff were contacted for comment.