Wellington demands document be released

SURF Coast Shire councillor Heather Wellington is continuing her campaign for more transparency from her own council, saying that the shire is refusing an order by the Victoria Information Commissioner to release one of two documents that she requested under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.

Earlier this year, Cr Wellington made an FOI request for the “two secret documents used by the shire to make a planning decision”, which was rejected by the shire.

It is unclear what either of the two documents are.

Cr Wellington said the shire was refusing to comply with the Information Commissioner’s decision that one of the documents was wrongly withheld and should have been released.

“The shire is refusing to release the document to me on the basis of a technical legal point, arguing that the Information Commissioner’s decision was invalid because it took longer than the period of time allowed in the FOI Act to make it.

“However, I have received preliminary advice from a Queen’s Counsel that the shire’s technical legal point is highly dubious and the only avenue to test it is to apply to the Supreme Court.

“I cannot explain this bizarre conduct by the shire and I strongly object to it wasting ratepayers’ money on legal fees, especially when the money is used to come up with contentious legal technicalities to stop ratepayers seeing a document that should have been made public in the first place.

“On the other hand, I am deeply committed to acting in the public interest – and I believe the public interest is for Surf Coast Shire to end the secrecy, give councillors and ratepayers appropriate access to information, and start behaving in a more open, transparent and accountable way.”

Cr Wellington has made an application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for release of the second document and said she “would not shy away from applying to the Supreme Court” regarding the first document, and would pay her own legal fees to do so.