Story by Echonetdaily
Read Echonetdaily’s full story here
IN FEBRUARY this year, Byron Shire Cr Rose Wanchap was censured for breaching council’s code of conduct after voting on, and intervening with a Council officer, over a Development Application for a business that was to run in competition with one in which she had a shareholding.
But, according to Echonetdaily, the censure was hushed up after a majority of councillors voted behind closed doors to keep it from the public.
Two of them are running again this election – Cr Wanchap and Cr Alan Hunter.
Echonetdaily notes that Cr Wanchap was cleared of a pecuniary interest conflict, but in November 2015 the NSW Office of Local Government instructed Council to investigate whether Cr Wanchap had a non-pecuniary conflict.
Barrister Nicholas P Harrison investigated the matter on behalf of Council.
He made his final report to council’s GM Ken Gainger on February 11 this year, recommending that “the Councillor [Wanchap] be formally censured for the breach under section 440G of the Act, and that the matter be referred to the Chief Executive of the Office of Local Government for further action under the misconduct provisions of the Act.’
Echonetdaily reporters Hans Lovejoy and Chris Dobney’s balanced article also provides Cr Wanchap’s reply, in which she says, “[The allegation] is not actually correct, as I was a guarantor of the loan for the purchase of a health centre one year after the vote was taken. I could not know that in the future, one year later that she would be purchasing the centre. When the vote was taken my daughter was a sole trader with a local medical centre and had been for the previous 14 years.”
Cr Wanchap believes this is an attempt to further attempt to distract voters from real policy but she is happy to address the issue yet again. My vote had no bearing on the outcome of the DA as it was approved.”
“My vote had no bearing on the outcome of the DA as it was approved.”