“Inequitable”: Auditor General says Huon Valley Council recruitment process was flawed

Tassie’s Local Government Minister remains tight-lipped over whether he thinks the Huon Valley general manager should remain in his role, after the Auditor-General found hiring process to be “flawed”. LATEST >

LOCAL Government Minister Roger Jaensch is staying tight-lipped over whether he thinks the Huon Valley general manager should remain in his role, after the Auditor-General found the process by which the successful candidate was hired was flawed.

Mr Jaesnch will issue a ministerial order to clarify the standards for future general manager recruitment after the report into the recruitment process was handed down on Tuesday.

Auditor-General Rod Whitehead reviewed the hiring process for the general manager after the successful candidate, Jason Browne, was revealed to be in a relationship with Joanne Inches, the head of the recruitment company hired by the council.

There is no suggestion Mr Browne was not qualified for the role, or that he was not a deserving appointee.

Mr Whitehead found the process was flawed and said it was a key concern the council proceeded with the recruitment despite knowing the process lacked integrity.

“I became aware of the conflict of interest at Huon Valley Council when it was reported in the media and when we received contact from members of the community and we’ve been monitoring it closely since,” Mr Jaensch said.

Breaking News Breaking News Newly appointed Huon Valley Council GM Jason Browne. Pic Supplied

Roger Jaensch. First day of Tasmania's new parliament in the House of Assembly after 2021 state election. Picture: Richard Jupe

Despite the identified conflict of interest, Mr Jaensch said he had no official role to play in the recruitment of a council’s general manager.

However, he said he had sought advice on what options were available to him from the Director of Local Government.

“They are an autonomous level of government,” Mr Jaensch said.

“They have the responsibility for conducting those processes, I have no role to play.

“As an independent sphere of government, it is a matter for each council to ensure the recruitment process for the role of their general manager is fair and merit-based.

“I’ll take further advice on any further action I need to take in relation to local government generally or any particular council.”

Mr Jaensch said the ministerial order would relate to future recruitment processes.

“I expect it will lead to clear performance improvements on the part of councils,” he said.

“In this case, standards for the recruitment and appointment and performance management of general managers because of the important role they play in managing public funds in the local government structure.”

When asked if he believed the outcome should be upheld, Mr Jaensch said the council should review the report and take action based on its advice.

Ministerial order cleans up council recruitment process ‘shortcomings’

Local government minister Roger Jaensch has issued a ministerial order to clarify the standards for future general manager recruitment after an auditor-general report was handed down over the Huon Valley Council general manager recruitment process.

Mr Jaensch said he had no official role to play in the recruitment of a council’s general manager, but had sought advice on what options were available to him from the director of local government.

Parliament

“As an independent sphere of government, it is a matter for each council to ensure the recruitment process for the role of their general manager is fair and merit-based,” Mr Jaensch said.

“The report draws attention to various shortcomings in the recruitment and performance management processes adopted by some councils in Tasmania.

“I expect it will lead to clear performance improvements on the part of councils.”

It’s unclear exactly what will be included in the ministerial order, but Mr Jaensch said it will draw on the findings of the auditor-general.

Auditor General calls out council for “flawed” process

Tuesday, October 12:

The Huon Valley Council’s management of a conflict of interest in its recruitment process was flawed and undermined public confidence, according to auditor-general Rod Whitehead.

An auditor general report which looked at council recruitment, appointment and performance assessment as well as the Huon Valley Council’s recent general manager recruitment was tabled in parliament on Tuesday.

The Huon Valley Council came under scrutiny after it was revealed a candidate in the running for general manager was in a relationship with the head of the recruitment agency contracted by the council.

The candidate, Jason Browne, was later successful in securing the role.

There is no suggestion about Browne’s eligibility for the role.

Mr Whitehead said the council did not adequately manage the conflict of interest.

“As consequence of that the potential for bias and the potential for unfair treatment of applicants meant there was a flawed recruitment process,” Mr Whitehead said.

Auditor-General Rod Whitehead.

Mr Whitehead said the consultant should have disclosed the conflict of interest at an earlier stage.

“When the council considered that conflict of interest, it looked at the possible management strategy to address that and unfortunately they didn’t take those right actions at that particular point in time,” he said.

“They could have actually removed that consultant from the process.”

Breaking News Breaking News Newly appointed Huon Valley Council GM Jason Browne. Pic Supplied

In his report, Mr Whitehead said while there was no evidence the process was biased, the potential remained.

This included consultant having access to interview questions and being present when the panel and council discussed other applicants.

Mr Whitehead said the potential for bias made the process “inequitable”.

He recommended the council review and improve the process.

“The Council recognises the importance of undertaking this training to ensure that not only the current elected members are fully trained to manage conflict of interest in recruitment processes but also that future councillors gain from the training and documentation that has been identified,” Huon Valley Mayor Bec Enders said in the report.

But there was no recommendation relating to the future of Mr Browne in light of the findings.

Mr Whitehead said discussions on the matter were ongoing.

“I will continue to work closely with the Director of Local Government in relation to this matter,” local government minister Roger Jaensch said in the report.

The report also looked at recruitment processes in other councils and found there process varied across councils, something he said affected the effectiveness of the assessment.

“At the moment, there’s an absence of guidance or instructions around how council’s should undertake that process,” Mr Whitehead said.

It was also found potential conflicts of interest weren’t adequately documented prior to the interview process of two councils.

“There’s a question as to whether they’d actually considered whether or not a conflict of interest existed,” Mr Whitehead said.

“I have already instructed the Director of Local Government to commence the preparation of a draft ministerial order, providing minimum standards for general manager recruitment, appointment and performance management,” Mr Jaensch said.

Former Huon mayor calls for release of report into conflict of interest

Former Huon Valley mayor Peter Coad has raised questions around a report into an investigation into the council’s handling of a conflict of interest after the council refused to release it in full.

The council commissioned the investigation by Edge Legal after it was revealed one candidate who applied for general manager was in a relationship with the head of the contracted recruitment agency.

That candidate, Jason Browne, was successful and has since began in the role.

There is no suggestion Mr Browne was ineligible not qualified for the role.

The council said the report found there were no breaches of the council’s code of conduct, the local government act or the council’s governance framework.

Former Huon Valley Council Mayor Peter Coad. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

It also said there was no evidence the recruitment was affected by bias.

Huon Valley mayor Bec Enders said the council couldn’t release the full report to protect the council from breaches of confidentiality, privacy and defamation.

The council released a “redacted version of the key findings” via a media release.

The release said the council was notified of the conflict on July 4.

“The late disclosure by the recruitment agency would have made it undesirable to remove the recruitment agency from the process at a late stage,” the version of the findings said.

“The recruitment panel was confident in being able to select for themselves a short list but was unaware as to how to properly manage such a conflict.”

Huon Valley Council Mayor Bec Enders. Picture: Chris Kidd

The agency submitted 14 of the 85 applications to the recruitment panel.

“The restriction of the recruitment agency not being involved in any decision as to the relevant candidate’s suitability to manage the conflict of interest did not adequately address the perceived bias,” the release reads.

“The appropriate management strategy was to remove the recruitment agency from the recruitment process.

Mr Coad said the “redacted” findings were not adequate.

“I cannot see why the release can’t be released in full,” Mr Coad said.

Mr Coad also questioned the report’s independence.

The council confirmed Edge Legal had been engaged to prepare the general manager’s employment contract.

“Edge Legal is a well-respected company, I have no reason to question the acting general manager who appointed them,” Cr Enders said.

‘Shouldn’t be like this’: MP slams Huon council transparency

An Upper House MP has called for more transparency around the recruitment process for the Huon Valley Council general manager.

Member for Huon Bastian Seidel has criticised the handling of the appointment after it was revealed the candidate chosen for the role was in a relationship with the head of the recruitment agency contracted to assist in the selection process.

Mr Seidel said he’d been contacted by community members unhappy with the process.

“The position of the Huon Valley Council general manager is quite a significant one and there’s a pay packet of almost a quarter of a million dollars associated with it,” Mr Seidel said.

“At the very least, Huon Valley ratepayers should be expecting a recruitment process that’s based on principles, professionalism and transparency.

Breaking News Breaking News Newly appointed Huon Valley Council GM Jason Browne. Pic Supplied

After a review cleared the council of breaching the code of conduct, the council has not released it to the public or provided the key findings.

There’s no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the appointed general manager or the recruiter.

Mr Seidel said many questions remain unanswered.

“I don’t understand why in the 21st century, local government processes need to be conducted under the veil of secrecy,” Mr Seidel said.

“It shouldn’t be like this.

“If there is nothing to hide, you should just release the report commissioned, that would be entirely appropriate and there’s no logical reason why that report or information from that report is held back.”

Bastian Seidel has called for transparency around the Huon Valley general manager recruitment process. Picture Eddie Safarik

Mr Seidel said General Manager Jason Browne had been put in a difficult position.

“The candidate may have been the most appropriate candidate,” Mr Seidel said

“He’s literally started his job under a cloud, that’s not fair on him either.

The member for Huon he will meet with the director of local government Craig Limkin for a briefing on October 6.

He’d also contacted local government minister Roger Jaensch’s office three times for a meeting.

“Doing nothing is not part of his brief,” Mr Seidel said.

“It’s to have active oversight over local councils and to ensure councils do function appropriately and frankly I think that involves the recruitment process of GM.

Bastian Seidel

“There’s got to be a reason we’ve got a minister for local government in the first place.”

The Mercury sought comment from Mr Jaensch asking whether he was satisfied with the level of transparency.

“It is a matter for each council to ensure the recruitment process for the role of their general manager is fair and merit based,” a government spokesperson said.

“The Minister for Local Government and Planning has no role to play in the recruitment of a council’s General Manager.”

The auditor general is reviewing the process.

“It’s just an auditing function, he doesn’t have any executive power,” Mr Seidel said.

“It’s the minister who does have the executive power.”

What to expect at today’s meeting

The Huon Valley Council said it will consider a further report in relation to its recruitment process for general manager, after it was revealed the successful candidate was in a relationship with the head of the recruitment agency contracted by the council.

The council commissioned a review into the process which cleared it of breaching the local government act and code of conduct.

There’s no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the general manager or the recruiter.

Huon Valley Council Mayor Bec Enders. Picture: Richard Jupe

The council said more information would be released but has since changed its tune.

“Council has been provided with additional legal advice relating to the release of the key findings included within the independent review of the general manager recruitment process,” Mayor Bec Enders told the Mercury in a statement on Friday.

“As a result the council will be further considering the matter at its meeting next Wednesday 29 September.”

But another report could be on the cards.

“The council will be considering a further report tomorrow night on the GM process and following this is planning to have a release out by the end of the week,” a spokesperson said on Tuesday.