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Latrobe City Warns Municipalities Of Confidentiality Loophole Latrobe City Council has called upon the Municipal Association of Victoria to further review the process of confidentiality within Victorian councils. By Latrobe City - 8th September 2008 - Back to News The call comes after the Minister for Local Government advised Latrobe City Council that it would not look further into allegations of a breach of confidentiality arising from a report presented to councillors in a closed meeting.
The Moe Library was the subject of a report provided to Latrobe City councillors in March 2007, which contained information of a confidential nature. The report subsequently resurfaced during a hearing at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in April 2008 regarding a Freedom of Information application by a Latrobe City resident.
During those proceedings it became apparent that the applicant had accessed information which had previously been provided by the Chief Executive Officer to councillors and deemed confidential for the reason that it contained commercially sensitive information.
Following the revelation, Latrobe City Council resolved to follow up the potential breach by seeking a review by the Minister for Local Government.
An Inspector of Municipal Administration appointed by the Minister reviewed the sequence of events and found that there was insufficient evidence to warrant further investigation. The Inspector suggested that in their opinion there was a period of one week between the release of the document to the councillors and it being resolved as confidential, in which the document could have been released under the Local Government Act.
Latrobe City’s chief executive officer, Paul Buckley, said that the Inspector’s opinion challenged accepted conventions in local government relating to confidential items.
"The period between confidential documents being provided to councillors at a briefing session and the council meeting where they are formally discussed, can be interpreted as meaning the documents are not technically ‘confidential’ when first provided. As such, based on their standard practices, many councils across Victoria may find themselves ‘exposed’ in such matters.
"Given that most other Victorian councils currently operate in the same way as ourselves, Latrobe City Council will be writing to the MAV to make sure that all councils are now aware of the potential implications of their confidentiality processes," Mr Buckley said.
"Our own processes for confidential items have now been reviewed and were in fact amended shortly before the Minister’s advice."
Mr Buckley stressed that it was important for the council and the community that issues such as a potential breach of confidentiality are followed up on every occasion.
"When contacting the council, the community wants to feel confident that their information will be protected. Pursuing any potential breach, and as in this case, taking appropriate action to overcome any potential weaknesses in processes, reconfirms our commitment to making that happen," Mr Buckley added.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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