Hawkesbury ratepayers have footed a hefty bill of over $95,000 in just one year, largely due to code of conduct complaints lodged by councillors against their political adversaries. Despite the high number of complaints - 23 in total - only one resulted in a finding of misconduct.

According to the Local Government’s annual “Your Council Report,” Hawkesbury Council received the second-highest number of code of conduct complaints in the state, trailing only Cumberland Council. 

Statewide, Sydney ratepayers spent more than $700,000 in a single year to address similar complaints, with the majority leading to no findings of misconduct. The $95,500 spent by Hawkesbury ratepayers during the 2023 financial year exemplifies this trend. The report does not mention the names of individuals involved or specific offenses. Nor, does it include the latest code of conduct complaints.

A September 2022 review of the Model Code of Conduct, conducted by the previous state government, identified significant issues within the framework. While not all councils struggle with councillor conduct, the review highlighted serious problems in some, pointing to deficiencies such as a lack of certainty, consistency, timeliness, and independence. Despite the framework being in place for over a decade, little progress has been made in reducing conduct complaints.

One persistent criticism is the system’s lack of transparency, with much of the process occurring behind closed doors. In one case, a councillor’s behavior was deemed “not meeting accepted standards,” likely breaching the Code of Conduct, yet this did not lead to a formal finding. The complainant was not informed of the resolution process chosen by the general manager, and the complaint was closed without any mechanism for appeal. 

These costly complaints may soon be a thing of the past. Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig promising to introduce reforms to the state’s model code of conduct, having previously labeled the current system a “shambles” and vowed to overhaul it.

Some councillors have however maneuvered through this opaque system with ease, often at significant expense to ratepayers, while being more hesitant to allocate funds to issues outside their political priorities.

In one case, Hawkesbury ratepayers were charged at least $46,000 for the Council’s successful motion to censure Councillor Eddie Dogramaci. Cr Dogramaci was found to have breached council rules by attaching his council business card to election materials for the recent NSW elections, where he was a candidate. He was also censured for distributing election leaflets that allegedly damaged the Council’s reputation by suggesting mismanagement in handling a sewer leak and withholding information. Dogramaci, maintained that he did nothing wrong and accused the Council of withholding information on a $35 million loan to cover the sewerage repair cost overruns.