❓ Question regarding transparency and investigation of complaints against the City of Melville. The answer provides information on the Department's actions and interactions with other agencies, but declines to release complaint details.
AnsweredQoN 2460Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the inquiry into the City of Melville and ask: (a) in the interests of transparency, will the complaints against the City of Melville be made available to the City and/or public: (i) if no to (a), why not; (ii) if yes to (a), on what date will they be made available to the City; and (iii) if yes to (a), on what date will they be made available to the public; (b) did the Department investigate any of the complaints prior to initiating a formal inquiry: (i) if yes to (b), how many complaints were investigated; (ii) if yes to (b), how many complaints were finalised prior to the commencement of the inquiry; and (iii) if no to (b), why not; (c) have any of the approximately 300 complaints against the City of Melville been investigated by the Public Sector Commission, Public Administration Committee, Ombudsman WA, Minister for Local Government and/or Freedom of Information Commissioner: (i) if yes to (c), how many complaints have been investigated by each of the Public Sector Commission, Public Administration Committee, Ombudsman WA, Minister for Local Government and/or Freedom of Information Commissioner; (ii) if yes to (c), has the department consulted with any of the aforementioned Public Sector Commission, Public Administration Committee, Ombudsman WA, Minister for Local Government and/or Freedom of Information Commissioner; and (iii) will the decisions and opinions of the Public Sector Commission, Public Administration Committee, Ombudsman WA, Minister for Local Government and/or Freedom of Information Commissioner be considered as part of the inquiry; and (d) were any complaints deemed by the City of Melville to be unreasonable, in accordance with the Ombudsman WA's guidelines: (i) if yes to (d), how many?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 March 2018
Responded by
Minister for Local Government
Response time
8 days
(a) No
(i) The Department believes that persons or organisations that lodge complaints do so expecting a degree of privacy and that their personal details, where possible, will not be made public.
(ii–iii) Not applicable.
(b) The Department worked with the City of Melville and met with complainants prior to making the decision to initiate the Authorised Inquiry
(i-ii) Nil
(iii) There was a concerted effort by the Department to resolve the matter without conducting a formal investigation
(c) The Department understands that the Public Sector Commission has investigated complaints related to misconduct of a City of Melville employee(s).
It is noted that the Minister for Local Government does not have the power to independently investigate complaints.
(i) Neither the Department nor my office are privy to the number of investigations conducted by other agencies.
(ii) Yes
(iii) Any decisions or opinions are made by other agencies in regard to their
investigations and/or are independent of, and will not be considered as part of the Department’s Authorised Inquiry.
(d) The Department is not aware of any complaints being declared ‘unreasonable’ by the City, however this question should be addressed to the City.
(i) The Department believes that persons or organisations that lodge complaints do so expecting a degree of privacy and that their personal details, where possible, will not be made public.
(ii–iii) Not applicable.
(b) The Department worked with the City of Melville and met with complainants prior to making the decision to initiate the Authorised Inquiry
(i-ii) Nil
(iii) There was a concerted effort by the Department to resolve the matter without conducting a formal investigation
(c) The Department understands that the Public Sector Commission has investigated complaints related to misconduct of a City of Melville employee(s).
It is noted that the Minister for Local Government does not have the power to independently investigate complaints.
(i) Neither the Department nor my office are privy to the number of investigations conducted by other agencies.
(ii) Yes
(iii) Any decisions or opinions are made by other agencies in regard to their
investigations and/or are independent of, and will not be considered as part of the Department’s Authorised Inquiry.
(d) The Department is not aware of any complaints being declared ‘unreasonable’ by the City, however this question should be addressed to the City.
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