Noosa councillor Frank Wilkie found to have engaged in misconduct

The deputy mayor of Noosa has been pinged for misconduct, with a tribunal hearing about conflicts of interests with community grants – but he plans to hit back.

A tribunal has found Noosa councillor Frank Wilkie engaged in misconduct during two council meetings, over the discussion of a community grant.

A tribunal has found a Noosa councillor engaged in misconduct during two council meetings, over the discussion of a community grant.

In a decision handed down in September, the Councillor Conduct Tribunal found Noosa deputy mayor Frank Wilkie did not inform two council meetings about a perceived conflict of interest regarding a community grant.

Documents show that two allegations were brought before the tribunal regarding the meetings, held in June 2018, in which a community grant of $2000 for the Peregian Beach Community Association was discussed.

The grant proposal was for the creation of a ring of 10 sandstone blocks in public space near the Peregian Community Kindergarten.

Mr Wilkie was present at the meetings and the tribunal found he should have declared a perceived conflict of interest.

After considering evidence, the tribunal accepted that Mr Wilkie was a member of the community organisation from 2014 until 2017 and that Mr Wilkie’s father was a president of the association before he died in 2017.

Although Mr Wilkie stopped his membership in 2017, the tribunal found that he continued to interact with the association.

Noosa Council’s deputy mayor Frank Wilkie has been found by a tribunal to have a perceived conflict of interest over a community grant in 2018. Photo: Caitlin Zerafa

The tribunal accepted that Mr Wilkie had received a donation of $200 from Barry Cotterell, who was vice-president and then became president of the association.

Mr Cotterell and his wife also handed out ‘how to vote’ cards for Mr Wilkie in the 2016 electoral campaign.

Mr Wilkie told the tribunal that neither he nor any associate “gained any personal or material interest” from the grant and the funding was “not eventually granted” because the council created the ring of stones without the community association having to hire a contractor for the job.

Mr Wilkie also submitted to the tribunal that his father had died more than a year before the grant matter came before the council and the complaint against him was alleged to be politically motivated.

The tribunal found that a “reasonable and fair-minded observer” may perceive Mr Wilkie’s continued involvement and stated advocacy for the association “might not bring an impartial mind” to any decision around council funding for the association.

“The issue is one of perception and the tribunal considered the respondent should have exercised an abundance of caution regarding council matters involving PBCAI,” the documents stated.

Mr Wilkie was ordered to make a public statement about the tribunal’s findings during a council meeting, which he did on November 17.

The councillor has also been ordered to arrange training, at his own expense, to identify real or perceived conflicts of interest.

The councillor told the meeting that he did receive a $200 donation from Mr Cotterell, who was then the association vice-president, during the 2016 council election.

“That amount was recorded on my electoral commission register but not on my council register, and is below the current legislative $500 threshold level for conflict-of-interest declarations,” Mr Wilkie said.

“This was a genuine oversight on my part.”

He also said he believed his association with Mr Cotterell was “principally work-related” and that a declaration was not required.

He said because of the public nature of the works he “genuinely did not believe” that he needed to declare a conflict of interest.

“Nevertheless, after a three-and-a-half year process and consideration of 271 pages of evidence, it was found that I should have declared a perceived conflict of interest,” Mr Wilkie said.

“I acknowledge the finding of misconduct for not declaring a perceived conflict of interest and admit that I made a genuine mistake in not making those declarations at that time.”

He said he would seek “a review of the decision” with the Queensland Civil Administrative Tribunal and legal advice in future conflict of interest matters, especially in regards to how long he must continue to raise a dead parent as conflict of interest.

Originally published as Noosa councillor Frank Wilkie found to have engaged in misconduct