The Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee has been told that Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission had failed to act independently, impartially and with fairness.
The Committee Chairman, Jon Krause said actions by the Crime and Corruption Commission resulted in a council in Australia’s eighth largest local government area being dissolved and striking out the democratic choice of the people of Logan City.
The investigation and public hearings by the Parliamentary Committee responsible for the oversight of the Crime and Corruption Commission follows a complaint by the state’s peak local government body, LGAQ.
“Underlying all this is the complaint that the CCC failed to act independently, impartially and with fairness,” Mr Krause said.
Counsel Assisting, Jonathan Horton QC, said in his opening statement the inquiry would focus on the CCC’s involvement in civil action by the then CEO, Sharon Kelsey, against the mayor and seven former councillors and Logan City Council, and processes that led to the councillors being charged with fraud in April 2019.
“There is an available perception the CCC may have taken sides … in favour of Ms Kelsey and against the elected mayor and seven councillors and to have used public power in a way that at the very least pushed the legal boundaries ,” Mr Horton told the committee.
Mr Horton said the CCC had intervened and advocated for Ms Kelsey in this action, meeting with her lawyers and making “repeated expression of sympathy and partisanship” for her.
The committee heard shortly after being appointed in 2017 Ms Kelsey blew the whistle on alleged wrongdoing at Council. She later claimed she was removed from her position in 2018 as payback, prompting her to take the case to the Queensland Industrial Relations Court.
The inquiry also heard that the Chair of the Crime and Corruption Commission, Alan MacSporran asked the government for public money to fund Ms Kelsey’s $2.5 million legal action and assisted the QIRC with regards to the production of documents.
The mayor and former councillors were arrested and charged on April 26 2019 and the subsequent dissolution of Council was a “potential gift” to Ms Kelsey in her quest for reinstatement, the Counsel Assisting said.
He said the CCR’s main memorandum underpinning the decision to lay charges praised Ms Kelsey and “demonised” the councillors, describing the mayor as living a “Jekyll and Hyde” existence.
The Counsel Assisting said material covered during the hearing suggested the CCC did more than assist Ms Kelsey and her legal representatives in a measured way; it is actively going in to bat and taking sides
The DDP dropped its action against the councillors in April 2021 because of lack of evidence.
Inquiries are formal – measured, based on researched and forensic questions. What is not evident is the impact on people’s lives from the slow, grind of justice. Amongst the 35 submissions lodged with the inquiry are two from former councillors which moves this from the arena of flawed process into that human pain.
In a personal statement lodged with the inquiry, Cherie Dalley said being “charged with a criminal offence had a profoundly negative impact on me, my family, my career as a long standing councillor, my reputation, and my income. I never thought for one second that any decision I made as Councillor or as Acting Mayor would have such devastating consequences for me and the City I loved.
“I was an elected Councillor for Division 8 of Logan City Council (Council) for approximately 22 years, having first been elected to office in 1997. I was also the Deputy Mayor of Council at the time these devastating events begun. In particular for me the impact has been the destruction of a longstanding career in local government which I was incredibly proud of.
“After 22 years in local government my reputation has been irrevocably tarnished. After finishing my position as a Councillor in 2024, I aspired to volunteer in local government and mentor young people. I considered that my longstanding history and extensive experience in local government would be useful to young professionals in government.”
In his personal statement, Russell Lutton said on the 24th April 2018 his solicitor was advised that the CCC were going to charge him with fraud and that he should present himself to CCC headquarters on the 26th to allow this to happen.
“I found this to be an unbelievable situation to experience. This is Australia. I was an elected representative doing my job to the best of my ability. Taking legal advice every step of the way (prior to exercising our vote on 7 February 2018 we had met approximately 16 times with council’s legal representatives, including a barrister). I did not take the decision or my duties to Logan City lightly. Despite this, and because of how I had exercised my vote, I was arrested and charged and potentially facing 20 years jail.
“On the day that I was to be charged I was walking up Adelaide St towards my solicitor’s office and thinking about throwing myself under a bus and ending it all. Luckily for me I did not follow this through.
“In the subsequent weeks I became depressed and sought help through a psychiatrist. I had no job, no income and felt like I had no relevance. I had been deprived of the opportunity to plan my retirement. One day I am representing the people of Logan and earning a reasonable salary, and the next day I was earning nothing and potentially going to jail.This charge had ruined my reputation and all I could think of was what I would do if I was found guilty and sent to jail.
“In the week following the charges being laid, I had to clear out my office. This was very difficult. So many memories. I cried the whole time it took me to do it. I did not have the opportunity to thank staff that had assisted me over the years and who diligently carried out the directions that Councillors set. I did not get the chance at a full Council meeting to stand up and thank the residents of my Division who had trusted me to represent them for over 30 years. These are little issues in the scheme of things but very important to me having committed over half my life to serving the residents of Logan City.
“Social Media was very cruel to me and my fellow sacked Councillors. From when the charges were laid I felt like I was instantly branded guilty and thus corrupt in the eyes of the public. My reputation that I had fought so hard to protect was ruined. People who would see me in the street or shops prior to this and usually stop to say hello would walk the other way. I was tarnished goods. It has taken me a long time to recover from the damage done to me by the laying of the fraud charge,” he said.
