Question On Notice No. 6485 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 15 October 2020 by Mr S.K. L'estrange
Question Directed to the: Minister for Local Government; Heritage; Culture and the Arts
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to the Show Cause Notice delivered to the Town of Cambridge on 26 May 2020, in which you write “3. I suspect that the Council has failed to ensure that the workplace culture at the Town is free from intimidation of employees and undue pressure on employees. In particular e) Employees of the Town have reported a perception that their employment will be jeopardised if they make mistakes, provide advice to the Council which does not accord with the views of Council members, or make decisions that Council members disagree with.”, and I ask:
(a) Without disclosing the author of any evidence you received, how many witnesses provided evidence to you, and on what date(s), in relation to:
(i) (3)(e) above;
(b) Was any evidence received which was provided on behalf of an organisation(s)? If yes, what organisation and on what dates(s) in relation to:
(i) (3)(e) above;
(c) Prior to issuing the Show Cause Notice on 26 May 2020, did you notify the Town of Cambridge Council that you had received this evidence, and if yes, when did you notify them;
(d) Prior to issuing the Show Cause Notice on 26 May 2020, did you provide an opportunity for the Mayor and/or Councillors of the Town of Cambridge to respond to the evidence you received:
(i) If yes, who did you receive responses from and on what date(s); and
(ii) If you are unable to provide names for (i) above, how many Councillors did you receive a response from which directly related to the evidence you received; and
(e) If no to (d), how was procedural fairness provided to the Mayor and Council of the Town of Cambridge to respond to the evidence you received?
Answered on 19 November 2020
(a) I refer to the Report of the Inquiry into the Town of Cambridge Finding 2 and paragraphs 59 – 66:
Finding 02: The Town’s employees’ have been unable to properly perform their functions because of undue pressure and fear of consequences.
59. The Town’s employees paint a different picture, alleging that one particular employee ‘was called into John’s office and she was walked out that night’ because she had provided advice to the Mayor that she was not happy with.
60. The employees also stated that the employment contracts of particular employees were regularly mentioned. The Mayor had asked to view the contract of one particular employee with a view to ending the contract, and the CEO regularly made comments that gave the employees the impression their employment was in jeopardy.
61. Comments allegedly made by the CEO included:
a. You’re in the bad books this week, you better watch your back.
b. She’s on to you.
c. Be careful, make sure you do your job properly.
62. Information was also provided by the Town's employees regarding their lack of confidence and capacity to undertake their functions because of undue pressure and fear of consequences.
63. During their interviews, the Town's employees gave general observations of the working relationship between the Mayor, elected members and administration staff.
64. In summary, they gave the following evidence:
a. The Mayor requires staff to keep a log of contact between planning staff and developers, then uses that log to criticise staff and accuse staff of collusion if they discuss proposals with developers
b. The Mayor and Councillor Timmermanis criticise staff members in public and are always trying to find fault with staff members.
c. Council gets involved in tender matters, such as changing tender criteria and directing staff to contact particular contractors, hindering staff from following appropriate processes.
d. Legal advice obtained by the Mayor is not always provided to other elected members.
e. The working environment has negatively affected the ability of the Town to recruit staff and backfill acting positions.
65. All the employees stated they did not feel supported by the CEO and that they had not, or would not, make complaints about anything because they felt they would be targeted and lose their jobs.
66. Specific comments included:
a. “So it's just a horrible environment. Nobody feels safe in there. Everyone feels as if their job could be taken away from them at any minute.”
b. “..working with the Mayor can be very stressful, very demanding. I feel there is too much interference in the role… and some of the behaviour is inappropriate.”
(b) No
(c-d) No
(d)(i-ii) Not applicable
(e) Please refer to Legislative Assembly question on notice 6477