A code of conduct breach at Bega Valley Shire Council may have further ramifications and costs for council.
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The council is due to appear in the Land and Environment Court on Monday, May 29, in an action relating to the Cattle Bay Marina, Eden.
Heinrich Ruiz de Roxas, director of the Cattle Bay Marina development, is taking council to the Land and Environment Court over its development application and requests for changes.
A presentation about the changes to the DA the company wanted, and the discussion during the council meeting of December 14, 2016, were the backdrop for three complaints made in relation to council’s Code of Conduct.
Councillor Robyn Bain was found to have breached the Code of Conduct with a significant non-pecuniary conflict of interest through her association with the Port of Eden Marina (POEM).
Cr Robyn Bain’s husband is secretary of POEM, which has been seen as a competing project to Cattle Bay Marina. POEM made a submission against the Cattle Bay Marina project prior to the decision to grant the DA to the organisation by the Joint Regional Planning Panel.
At the council meeting, local representative for the Cattle Bay Marina Mike Skitt made a presentation in support of the company’s request for changes to its DA and suggested councillors and staff could attend a site meeting to discuss the proposed changes.
During the presentation Cr Robyn Bain said she was “perplexed”.
In addressing Mr Skitt she said: “You said you have spent $1million (on planning) but you have also said that without funding there will be no wave attenuator and so no development. You’ve spent $1million but are saying you’re not going to go ahead unless you get funding.”
It was something Cr Robyn Bain reiterated when council moved to discuss the item on the agenda.
Mr Skitt, a former councillor, was quick to call Cr Bain out of order and the Mayor Kristy McBain pointed out to Cr Robyn Bain that questions must be limited to the matter being dealt with, ie the request for a change to the DA conditions.
During the subsequent discussion it became apparent that some emails had been received late in the day and director of transport and utilities Terry Dodds had not looked at them in detail.
Because of this and the complexity of the matter, councillors Sharon Tapscott, Jo Dodds and Tony Allen wanted the matter deferred for a site visit. However, the motion was lost, and by a subsequent 5-4 vote changes to the DA were refused.
Now the matter has ended up in the Land and Environment Court for a s34 conciliation conference between council and the company.
Council has had a mixed track record in the Land and Environment Court and it could be concluded that the breach may have affected the outcome of council’s decision at the meeting. This may well have a bearing on matters being heard at the Land and Environment Court.
In all the Code of Conduct issue may prove to be a costly item for council with the costs for the independent review, time taken by staff to address the matter and produce records requested by the reviewer and now appearance at the Land and Environment Court.