Council stands by proper process for release of asbestos report

The elected Council determined its approach to the release of the reports into the independent investigation into asbestos management, at an extraordinary meeting last night.

Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill, said, “It is important that we uphold the principle, and practice, of procedural fairness for the Public Inquiry, the organisation, and the individual staff involved.”

The Council maintains that the view of the Commissioner conducting the Public Hearing into the Blue Mountains City Council should be sought before the Council decides to release the information publicly.

“I would not want to do anything until I was confident of the Commissioner’s opinion on this matter”, the Mayor said.

The Mayor said that this approach is appropriate and responsible. “We need to ensure that we respect the conduct of the Public Inquiry, and take into account procedural fairness and the legal advice provided.

To do anything else would be irresponsible of the Council.”

The Public Inquiry will address issues relating to the Council’s management of asbestos. Amongst other matters, the Inquiry may consider the Council’s action to initiate the independent asbestos investigation conducted by Clyde & Co on the instructions of the Council’s solicitors.

The Mayor said, “The findings and recommendations of the independent asbestos investigation, as well as Council’s actions to address the issues raised, have all been made public previously.

“We will consider the potential release of actual reports at a future Council meeting in accordance with the resolution passed.

Having said all of this, the most important thing is that we continue to address the issues of managing asbestos, a challenge faced by all councils and communities in NSW.” The Council noted that the General Manager will respond to the Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) recommendation of 15 October 2018 within the prescribed 10 days allowed.