By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
GREATER Dandenong councillor Maria Sampey has failed to get her colleagues’ support for the council to pay for her legal challenge to gain access to an unedited report of last year’s secret probe into her and councillor Peter Brown.
Cr Sampey has launched an appeal at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after chief executive John Bennie rejected her Freedom of Information application to see the full report in February.
In her motion at a council meeting last week, Cr Sampey moved for “commensurate legal support” as was being provided by the council’s lawyers representing Mr Bennie at the VCAT hearing.
The motion failed to gain a motioner, in Cr Sampey’s absence; several councillors were apologies for the meeting, including Cr Brown.
Cr Sampey has been absent from council meetings on stress leave since November citing a “breakdown” caused by the probe and its aftermath.
After the meeting, Mayor Jim Memeti said the council’s role was “to represent the interests of its residents, and to fund legal costs of a member of (the) council to take legal action against their own council would not be a valid use of council funds”.
Cr Sampey said she regarded herself as the “defendant”.
“I’ve been defending myself for nearly 12 months against this secret investigation. Why is Mr Bennie the victim?”
The ‘confidential and privileged’ probe was launched last year by Mr Bennie and then-mayor Angela Long into alleged misconduct by Crs Brown and Sampey in allegedly upsetting council staff over a botched footpath project.
An investigation by CT Management was undertaken, though no formal complaint was lodged by staff members against the councillors.
Councillors last year voted for themselves to have view-only access to a redacted version of the report, which concealed witnesses’ idenities and was housed at a Dandenong law firm’s office.
The public has not been able to see the report – either in redacted or its complete form – nor its findings.
In March, Mr Bennie rejected the Journal’s FOI application for access to either version of the report.
The VCAT hearing continues on 3 July.
