Queanbeyan City Council is launching an investigation into a possible code of conduct breach in response to documents leaked to The Queanbeyan Age in April this year.
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At a council meeting on Wednesday night, April 27, council voted in favour of a mayoral minute to investigate whether the code of conduct was breached in relation to documents.
Councillor Sue Whelan asserted the investigation is warranted due to "a very serious breach of code of conduct."
"They were working documents that councillors and staff were working through to come to a decision and until council had made a considered decision those documents should have been kept in house," she said.
"It's not unusual for councils or departments or businesses to do things internally."
She said the "disturbing headlines" that resulted from the leak raised concerns in the community that were "totally unnecessary."
The investigation will be conducted by an external body, the Office of Local Government.
"It's an external investigation," Cr Whelan said.
"That way it will be totally independent and I think that's exactly the way to go."
But Councillor Brian Brown opposed the move and said it was simply a political stunt and a waste of taxpayer money.
"It's a political distraction to take people's attention off the really important issue here, and that is the Percy Allan report," he said.
"The issues that he raised are very, very significant issues and to downplay them is just misleading the public into the seriousness of the financial situation we [the council] find ourselves in.
"What we should be investigating is the eight years of financial mismanagement that's got us in this mess in the first place, so we can see where mistakes were made and not make them again.
"I'm struggling to see any of it that wasn't already public information and was made public through the Percy Allan public presentation."
