Redland council in chaos as nine-hour meeting ends in calls for OIA overhaul

A bayside council meeting descended into legal wrangling, bickering, and adjournments on Wednesday, with a nine-hour standoff over whether the Deputy Mayor could vote on a conduct report into the Mayor.

Redland City councillors, from left, Wendy Boglary, Rowanne McKenzie, Shane Rendalls, Peter Mitchell, Lance Hewlett, Mayor Jos Mitchell, Paul Golle, Julie Talty, Paul Bishop, Jason Colley and Tracy Huges.

A dramatic bayside council meeting descended into legal wrangling, bickering, confusion and adjournments on Wednesday, with a nine-hour standoff over whether the Deputy Mayor could vote on a conduct report into the Mayor.

Redland City Council had been expected to decide whether Mayor Jos Mitchell breached the Councillor Code of Conduct and what disciplinary action, if any, should follow, after an independent investigation by BDO Forensic and Integrity Services at a cost of $18,240.

The BDO report said the claims were unsubstantiated and the Mayor has denied any breaches of the councillor code of conduct.

But the meeting quickly unravelled when Mayor Mitchell raised objections to Deputy Mayor Julie Talty’s participation in the vote, citing a seven-page legal letter which warned that Cr Talty may have a conflict of interest under the Local Government Act 2009.

The all-day saga, the third in three months that has run for more than five hours, ended with no result and calls for an overhaul of the Office of the Independent Assessor and the procedures for how councillors’ conduct is investigated.

Mayor Mitchell argued that Cr Talty had been closely involved in key decisions and had publicly expressed views that demonstrated a predetermined position.

The mayor said Cr Talty had supported a controversial portfolio reshuffle that triggered the original complaint and there had been other social media comments questioning the Mayor’s role.

Redland City Council Deputy Mayor Julie Talty, left, and Mayor Jos Mitchell went head to head in a nine-hour council meeting on Wednesday, July 16.

The release of the legal letter mid-meeting sparked confusion and division in the chamber.

Several councillors said they had not seen the document prior to the meeting and raised concerns about being asked to make a legal judgment without notice.

Cr Talty said she had not been warned she would be accused of a conflict of interest in the matter and took issue with the letter, asking to have time to read it.

The unredacted letter was later shared with all councillors after the Mayor gave permission during a 15-minute adjournment.

The debate over potential conflicts dragged on for hours, with legal interpretations, eligibility questions and procedural deadlocks stalling the vote.

At one point, it was suggested that only four councillors might be eligible to decide whether Cr Talty and five others could remain in the room to vote raising questions of whether four would be enough for a quorum.

Further confusion arose over whether merely speaking to the item might also represent a conflict and whether interest declarations should have been lodged before the meeting.

The matter was initially deferred, and the meeting moved on to other items. But at 4.45pm, councillors agreed the deferral was unfair to those named in the Mayor’s legal letter and the meeting was adjourned again, before council finally returned to vote on whether the deputy mayor Cr Talty was eligible to vote on the mayor’s conduct matter.

The council meeting, which began at 9.30am ended just before 7pm with no result on the Mayor’s conduct matter and plans for the eligible councillors to vote on it at a future meeting.

Originally published as Redland council in chaos as nine-hour meeting ends in calls for OIA overhaul