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Mayor call to open Keith Platt keith@baysidenews.com.au MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor Cr Bryan Payne wants the public to be able to see a register of gifts made to council officers. “I personally agree that the gift register should be available for public inquiry and I will raise that matter with my fellow councillors,” Cr Payne said last week. The move for greater transparency around gifts to council officers follows revelations that shire CEO Carl Cowie in July 2016 was a guest aboard a cruise ship hired by prominent businessman and Portsea property owner, Lindsay Fox ("Shire boss on Fox ‘party’ cruise", The Times 11/12/17). Mr Cowie says that because the Mediterranean cruise was made at no cost to the shire “it was not required to be placed on the gift register”. It is understood that Mr Cowie and his wife paid their own airfares to Europe to join the cruise from Athens to Venice during council approved leave. The shire’s Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality policy – an “internal” document “owned” by the CEO states: “Gifts, benefits and hospitality received must not create a real or perceived sense of obligation that may lead to a perception of prefer-
ence or conflict.” The policy also states: “Councillors and council staff are to ensure that attendance at private functions does not have potential implications for council’s reputation or image or may cause an actual or perceived conflict of interest.” Several other cruise guests, as well as Mr Fox, own valuable property on the peninsula. When first asked about Mr Cowie’s trip last month Cr Payne, who was not a councillor at the time of the 2016 cruise, agreed “it could look like a conflict of interest if it didn’t have council approval”. Cr Bev Colomb, who was a councillor during the previous council term when Mr Cowie joined Mr Fox’s so-called “conception party”, said she had not been “part of an approval process” for the trip. She believed the then mayor, former councillor Graham Pittock, “knew of it, but it wasn't brought to all of us”. “My view is that management, along with councillors, of course, needs to declare an interest when any relevant issue comes up,” Cr Colomb said. “And this, along with all registers, needs to be accessible to the public.” Cr Colomb was one of four of the shire’s 11 councillors to respond to an email asking questions about council’s gifts policy. Two council-
lors – Hugh Fraser and Frank Martin - had an automatic email response saying they were on leave. Crs Simon Brooks, Sam Hearn, Kate Roper and Rosie Clark did not respond to the email. Cr Antonella Celi in her reply said she would leave any comment about the gifts policy up to the mayor. Cr David Gill said he was awaiting answers from council officers to questions he had asked about the gifts register “including if [registering a gift is] a legal requirement”. Each councillor was asked if they thought activities such as accepting a free cruise on a ship hired by a highprofile ratepayer such as Mr Fox should be listed in the gifts register and whether the register should be a public document. The official council response in December stated: “The gifts policy is an internal corporate policy. Such policies are not placed on council’s website. “The register has been audited on an annual basis. There is no legal requirement to make this available externally subject to Freedom of Information requests.” The Times asked the shire for details of the audit process (see left). Neighbouring Frankston Council’s Staff Gifts and Hospitality Policy register is available for public inspection. Mr Cowie returned to work late
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors will be discussing the pros and cons of opening up the shire’s gifts register for public scrutiny following CEO Carl Cowie’s presence aboard a luxury liner hired by high profile businessman and Portsea property owner Lindsay Fox in July 2016. Mr Cowie, left, says he was not required to register the trip and there is no legal requirement for the register to be a public document. However, other municipalties have decided gifts and benefits to councillors and council officers should be available for public scrutiny in much the same way they are declared by federal MPs.
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Frankston Times 8 January 2018