BURNSIDE CITY COUNCIL

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (14:41): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Local Government Relations a question about the Burnside council.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: On 13 October the minister announced that the investigation into Burnside council, conducted by Mr Ken MacPherson and due for completion on 31 October 2009, would be extended for four months to ensure that 'procedural fairness is afforded to those who may be named in his report'. I have been contacted by a prominent businessman who has had many dealings with the Burnside council and who has a plethora of pertinent information on matters relating to the investigation. He informs me that he has formally requested a face to face meeting with Mr MacPherson in order to personally convey the information he holds and that Mr MacPherson has refused this request, advising instead that he is able to arrange a meeting with a person assisting him with his investigation. Whilst I understand that Mr MacPherson is not able to attend all meetings personally, I would have thought that a request from a person with important information relating to the investigation would be met favourably by the investigator. My questions are:

1. How much of an active role is Mr MacPherson taking in this investigation?

2. Will extending the investigation give Mr MacPherson the opportunity to meet such requests, or is it the intention merely to allow him to examine the information already received?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (14:43): I thank the honourable member for his important question. Indeed, in response to issues of concern around the conduct of the Burnside council, in July this year I appointed Ken MacPherson to conduct an independent investigation and to report on whether that council had contravened or failed to comply with a provision of the Local Government Act or failed to discharge its responsibilities under that act.

The terms of reference have been outlined and are online if people want to see them, and I have provided them here before. I think it was part of my ministerial statement that the role of Mr Ken MacPherson is that he has responsibility for conducting and overseeing that investigation, as per the terms of reference I have outlined. He has a number of staff assisting him, including, I believe, other legal representatives, and the investigation is conducted independently of government. It is absolutely not appropriate that I interfere in that in any way, shape or form. It is a matter for the investigator, Mr Ken MacPherson, to determine how he proceeds through those administrative matters and who is the appropriate person to deal with that. Ultimately, the investigator, Mr Ken MacPherson, is responsible for that investigation. He is an incredibly competent man and well qualified to do this. He has a great deal of expertise and experience in this area and I am confident that he will do it with a great degree of diligence.

Some time ago Mr MacPherson requested that the amount of time he have for that investigation be extended, given that the investigation was opened up to public submissions, and I think that was an important part of this particular investigation given the sorts of complaints and concerns that have been expressed, so we opened it up.

Mr MacPherson made an estimate in terms of what time he thought he would need, but after he had opened the expressions of interest he then assessed the need for further time so that he could conduct the investigation fully, allowing adequate time for the hearing of submissions, followed by a process of natural justice where he is then able to talk to those individuals who might have allegations made against them.

I think Mr MacPherson has allowed a period of time towards the end of the process for that, and then to make a report to me. As I said, it would be inappropriate for me to interfere in any way in terms of how he might collect that evidence. I am absolutely confident that he is well qualified to conduct this investigation in a proper and lawful way.