Lockyer Valley Regional Council Mayor, Tanya Milligan has responded to the Councillor Conduct Tribunal’s finding of misconduct by Councillor Brett Qualischefski, saying her Council is “severely disappointed”.
Mayor Milligan said she was taking the opportunity on behalf of the Council to provide residents with the relevant facts and details that the community has a right to know.
“The community may have recently become aware that one of our councillors, Cr Brett Qualischefski has been formally found to have engaged in misconduct under the Local Government Act 2009 (Qld),” Mayor Milligan said.
“I am sure this is as disappointing for you as it is for me and the rest of our Council.
“In April 2021, Council received a complaint from a community member alleging inappropriate behaviour from a councillor. Council promptly encouraged the community member to take the matter to the police, which they did.
“Council’s CEO simultaneously referred the matter to the Office of Independent Assessor (OIA) for formal investigation under the Local Government Act. Council made this referral to the OIA in April 2021.”
Following an investigation, Queensland Police issued Cr Qualischefski with a Notice of Adult Caution for the offence of ‘Unlawful Stalking’.
“On behalf of Council, I want to acknowledge and apologise for the impact that the incidents and subsequent investigations have had on the victim, her family and the community,” she said.
“As a community leader I can say that no one should be subjected to stalking.”
Mayor Milligan also called for change, after it took the OIA and Councillor Conduct Tribunal (Tribunal) more than two years to reach an outcome.
“The OIA determined the behaviour warranted further investigation and referred the matter to the Councillor Conduct Tribunal,” she said.
"As I understand it, the OIA made that referral in June 2022 – a year after Council lodged the matter with them.
“Council has made numerous enquiries to the OIA and the Tribunal over the past two years for the matter to be finalised. It was appropriate that we did not make public comments on the matter until the OIA and Tribunal processes had been completed.”
The Tribunal, which only made its final decision public late last month, found the matter was indeed Councillor Misconduct, ordering Cr Qualischefski to undertake counselling with a psychologist and pay $2000 towards the cost of the proceedings.
The determination and reasonings, which can be found in full on Council’s website, were determined solely by the Tribunal with no input from Council.
Mayor Milligan stressed Council had never covered up the matter, saying it was Council that urged the community member to go to the police and that referred the matter to the relevant body.
“Council is deeply embarrassed and severely disappointed by the conduct of one of our elected members,” she said.
“We know this reflects poorly on all of us – and I want to say while that suspicion is understandable, it is not justified. Overall, our team works in the best interests of the community with the highest integrity."
Mayor Milligan acknowledged people will ask why Council didn’t make the councillor stand down, or resign, or go on leave without pay, saying Council does not have that authority.
“The OIA and the Tribunal are State Government organisations and make the decision. Local Government - councils – can only refer concerns to them, and that is what Council promptly did here,” she said.
“I expect the community are not only disappointed that a councillor has been found to have engaged in this conduct, but also that they are frustrated about the length of time before the matter of misconduct was determined. We share that frustration.
“In cases like this where there has already been a police investigation and admission of guilt, the matter should be dealt with as promptly as possible to restore community confidence in public office.
“In an attempt to find a silver lining from this matter, may I suggest we turn at least some of the community conversation to what respectful behaviour looks like, and to call out inappropriate behaviours immediately and support any victims of such behaviour.”
ENDS
