The hammer needs to fall on misconduct in Council

And it can with your help

A complaint was lodged with the State Member for Cairns, Rob Pyne and was tabled in State parliament on 17th March 2016. The accompanying letter said:

In Redland City repeated travesties of local government administration, occasioned by Mayor Karen Williams intervention on behalf of property developers, have aroused persistent suspicion… She has poisoned the office of Mayor, and inflicted damage on the integrity of our Council’s City Planning and Assessment unit …she has shunned community interests in favour of developer interests.

The submission was made by the Birkdale Progress Association and Redlands 2030, to Rob Pyne, who had previously voiced grave concerns about developer influence in local government.

The documents relate to matters leading up to the Council’s controversial Shoreline decision in November 2015. It has given rise to a perception of a conflict of interest and/or corruption, in which certain matters were not disclosed by Mayor Williams.

The contention is that people or companies with an interest in Shoreline have:

  • transacted a multi-million dollar land purchase from the Williams family estate
  • made the use of commercial premises available to Cr Williams for use as headquarters for her 2012 mayoral campaign
  • played key roles in a community organisation which attacked Cr Williams’ political opponents at the 2012 election

There are a number of questions that remain unanswered:

  • At the November 2015 Council meeting to discuss Shoreline, did Cr Williams adequately describe her conflict of interest?
  • What was the nature of her relationship with the applicants and others who stood to benefit if Shoreline was approved?
  • When previous matters regarding Shoreline were debated in Council meetings, did Cr Williams declare any conflict of interest?

We need to urge Jackie Trad to hand over documents to the Triple C relating to this matter and we need to urge the Triple C to investigate. 

Individually crafted letters carry more weight than a formatted letter or a petition.

If your surname begins with a letter from A to K, write to the Triple C. If your surname begins with a letter from L to Z direct a letter to Trad.

Don’t be squeamish. Show your anger. We have put up with 12 years of outrageous development approvals, secret meetings between developers and Council executives behind closed doors, lies, half-truths and obfuscation. Click on this link [pol insight 8] for key points you can use in your letter.

Once you’ve sent your letter, email me: with your name and to whom your letter was sent so we can keep tally.

These campaign funding concerns apply to other councils and every tier of government, so next week I’ll send out a short video you can forward on to others who don’t live in the Redlands.

We need more support. Please continue to send a copy of this post out by social media.

Graham Carter