Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig engaged in inappropriate conduct

Details from a confidential meeting surrounding an inappropriate conduct complaint against Gympie Regional Council’s Mayor can now be revealed. See how each councillor voted.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig has been found to have engaged in inappropriate conduct after being found, on the balance of probabilities, to have breached the councillor code of conduct in how he treated a former staff member in a meeting. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Gympie Regional Council Mayor Glen Hartwig has been found to have engaged in inappropriate conduct following a closely split vote by the council.

The unconfirmed minutes from the October 26 meeting reveal councillors voted 3-2 to accept the investigation report determining there was “sufficient evidence” Mr Hartwig had “engaged in inappropriate conduct”.

Details of the incident are unknown.

The matter was discussed behind closed doors and the councillor conduct register had not been updated at time of publication.

Mr Hartwig has been contacted for comment.

The matter had previously been referred to councillors in June but could not be finalised after more than half left the meeting – Mr Hartwig, Deputy Mayor Hilary Smerdon, Dolly Jensen, Shane Waldock, and Bruce Devereaux – after declaring conflicts of interest.

Gympie councillors had previously found themselves unable to resolve the complaint when more than half of them left the meeting having declared conflicts of interest.

The state government was asked for advice on how to handle the complaint, and it was returned to councillors for resolution.

Mr Hartwig, Mr Devereaux, Mrs Jensen and Mr Waldock left the meeting again after declaring conflicts of interest.

Mr Hartwig as “the person who is subject of the complaint” and the others for having written letters in his support during the investigation.

Remaining councillors Dan Stewart, Jess Milne and Warren Polley voted in support of the report’s findings.

Deputy Mayor Hilary Smerdon and Bob Fredman rejected them.

There was no split when it came to deciding punishment though: all five councillors voted against.

Inappropriate conduct complaints, which relate to breaches of behavioural standards, are returned by the Office of the Independent Assessors to councils for resolution.

Only more serious misconduct complaints are assessed by the state’s Councillor Conduct Tribunal.

Under the Local Government Act councillors do not have to accept the findings of investigations into inappropriate conduct complaints.

Originally published as Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig engaged in inappropriate conduct