One of the city’s leading barristers says any move to put a time limit on councillors to review classified documents would be “totally inappropriate” and flies in the face of due diligence.
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But on the day councillors were set to meet over an external review of an internal audit that advised against loaning money to Douglas Aerospace, Wagga mayor Rod Kendall said there was “no intention” to restrict the access of elected officials.
All previous reports indicated councillors would be given just two hours to review a hard copy of the “second audit” – a move that sparked fury in the ranks.
“I don’t know where two hours has come from,” Cr Kendall said.
“When it is presented, there is no intention of being any particular time limit. It’s unknown to me when any report is given to councillors and taken away from them.”
City councillors met on Monday night to review the auditor’s report, with a top-down ban preventing its public release remaining in place.
Wagga barrister Matthew Hogg agreed the report should remain confidential if it made council vulnerable to future litigation.
“I can understand why it’s all gone to hell,” he said.
“There may be multiple other contractors whose liabilities and obligations are enshrined in that report. They would be extra wary if that information opens up third parties.
“It could make a bad situation worse.”
However, Mr Hogg said “under no circumstances” should weighty documents be withheld from councillors – representatives of the community.
“Commercial-in-confidence is often hid behind and it shouldn’t be hid behind when there is a genuine public need to know what goes on,” he said.
“It should be provided to councillors as part of normal accounts that they receive.”
Cr Yvonne Braid still insists the document should be made public because “it is the community’s money”.
“There might be certain aspects of it concerning staff, but there are ways and means of getting around that,” she said. “The community are entitled to know what council is doing with their money.”
In July, council announced it had cancelled the $2.5 million loan to Douglas Aerospace after acquiring the airport hangar. Council still needs to undertake upgrades at the site before leasing it to Rex. The airliner hopes to maintain its own fleet there.
