The North Wagga Residents' Association has written to the Office of Local Government (OLG) requesting the agency review a 2020 investigation into Councillor Rod Kendall following his recent failure to declare a conflict of interest.
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The association's treasurer, Fiona Ziff, wrote to the OLG last week seeking it revisit the findings of its 2020 decision exonerating Cr Kendall amid allegations he had failed on 17 occasions to disclose conflicts of interest.
The catalyst for calling for the review was Cr Kendall's admission that he had a "significant and non-pecuniary interest" when he voted at a council meeting on February 14 to approve plans for a Plymouth Brethren meeting hall in Lake Albert.
An opponent of the development reported the matter to Wagga City Council and general manager Peter Thompson referred it to the OLG.
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Approval for the hall was rescinded at the March 7 meeting and Cr Kendall declared a "significant non-pecuniary interest" on the grounds he "is undertaking consulting work at the request of the applicant" and vacated the chamber while the matter was debated and voted on again.
In 2020, the North Wagga Residents' Association spent an estimated $30,000 commissioning private investigation firm Creighton Group to delve into the business interests of Wagga's nine councillors amid concerns about progress on a campaign to improve flood protection for the village.
While the report made "no conclusions" to the North Wagga issue, it did allege Cr Kendall had failed to declare interests on 17 occasions between 2009 and 2019.
The OLG examined the allegations contained in the report and in September 2020 concluded they were "satisfied that no action is warranted by OLG".
Cr Kendall told The Daily Advertiser in March 2021 that the OLG's ruling was the "highest level of vindication".
Ms Ziff, who told the OLG in her letter that the association represents the interests of 131 households in North Wagga, said the group thought some key aspects of the report were overlooked in 2020.
"We want the OLG to go through it again," Ms Ziff said.
Cr Kendall has denounced the call for a review, saying the matter had been concluded. "I've provided comment in the past and the Office of Local Government has provided comment in the past," he said.
He also argued code of conduct matters "should be treated confidentially" and said he was unsure why this was not being respected by the residents' association.
The OLG confirmed it has received the request from the residents' association.
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