By Luke Voogt
Councillor Heather Wellington has won another legal battle against Surf Coast Shire for documents it previously denied her access to.
The Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) recently over-ruled the shire refusing Cr Wellington access to documents relating to unsealed roads and a hall in Winchelsea.
“I have taken this stand to expose the current culture of secrecy at Surf Coast Shire and the lengths the shire will go to keep ratepayers in the dark,” Cr Wellington said.
“The bureaucracy [seems] more intent than ever on shutting down opportunities for councillors to ask questions and obtain information.”
Cr Wellington requested the shire detail how much of its $150,000 2018-19 budget allocation for unsealed road maintenance in Winchelsea was spent on a customer service officer.
The entire amount should have gone towards maintenance given “very low” satisfaction rates for unsealed roads in Winchelsea, she first told the Independent in 2018.
Cr Wellington also requested lease and rental valuations, for a café business that operated in the former Winchelsea Shire Hall until rent-increase demands forced it out, she said.
She said the shire denying her the documents demonstrated “an outrageous pattern of secrecy and obstruction that has seriously hindered my efforts to do my job as a councillor”.
“Most people would assume [the documents] to be readily accessible by an elected councillor, and … by the public.
“Transparency and accountability should be major issues at the council elections in October.”
The legal win comes after the shire released its new transparency policy for public comment last month.
“I fear that the proposed transparency policy … will prove toothless and do nothing to change the culture of secrecy or improve the accountability of the bureaucracy,” Cr Wellington said this week.
Last November, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) ruled in favour of Cr Wellington after the shire denied her access to documents relating to a helicopter hangar at Freshwater Creek.
The Independent this week requested comment from both mayor Rose Hodge and chief executive officer Keith Baillie.
“Surf Coast Shire will not engage in this matter through the media,” Mr Baillie said.
