Derwent Valley councillor continued to breach code of conduct despite caution, investigation finds

An investigation has found a Tassie councillor brought the council into disrepute by operating his business unlawfully. DETAILS >>

There are calls for an overhaul of the code of conduct process for councils after a Derwent Valley councillor was issued a performance improvement direction by local government minister Roger Jaensch for failing to comply with the council’s code of conduct.

The direction, published in the council’s most recent agenda, said Cr Paul Belcher was granted a planning permit in February 2019 to fit out a store in New Norfolk.

It said in March that same year, Cr Belcher was told by the council’s environmental health officer the business was not approved to open.

Mr Belcher opened his business Pauly’s Pizza the next day and was issued an infringement notice two months later.

Derwent Valley councillor Paul Belcher. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

An investigation was launched by the director of local government, and it was found Cr Belcher brought the council into disrepute by operating his business unlawfully.

It was found after being cautioned Cr Belcher continued to operate his business, without registration or a permit.

Under the improvement direction, Cr Belcher is required to undertake ethics training and apply for an occupancy permit.

Failure to comply could mean a six-month suspension from council.

Derwent Valley Mayor Ben Shaw said he hoped the training would help Cr Belcher become a more informed representative.

“It’s extremely disappointing that an elected member with seven years local experience would put themselves in this situation,” Mr Shaw said.

“Ignorance of the process is most definitely not an excuse.”

Derwent Valley Mayor Ben Shaw. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Cr Shaw said he was not satisfied with the code of conduct process, claiming it did not protect the council.

The mayor called for an overhaul of the process.

“This left council, our community and staff extremely vulnerable to the following abuse of power,” he said.

“The system clearly needs to change and become more robust in dealing with serious breaches.”

Local Government Association of Tasmania CEO Dion Lester said LGAT had been calling for a review and overhaul of the process for years.

“It must be remembered that councillors and community members are human beings who, no matter how much they try, will make occasional mistakes,” Mr Lester said.

“The Code of Conduct Framework should be reserved for matters of a more serious nature pertaining to breaches of governance standards, serious cultural issues, or loss of public confidence in local government.

“This is where the Code of Conduct is failing us.

“We have a system that spends unnecessary time and resources on dealing with the trivial, while on the occasions when serious misconduct occurs, it fails to adequately sanction the breaches.”