Rob Messenger refers Council to CMC

MEMBER for Burnett Rob Messenger has referred local government officials and elected representatives on to the Queensland Ombudsman and the Crime and Misconduct Commission to investigate their role in the Bororen water crisis, after it was revealed that residents have been unknowingly drinking council supplied water which was not fit for human consumption.
 
In a letter to the Ombudsman and CMC Chair, Mr Messenger wrote: “In my opinion, after carefully assessing the facts and documents presented to me by my constituents, a water engineer and a former council employee and water officer, there is a high likelihood that the actions of local government officials, elected representatives and possibly state officials, may have been illegal, unreasonable, unjust and based on a mistake of law or fact, or wrong”.

“I am also referring this issue to the CMC in the public interest because there’s also the possibility that misconduct within a local authority, the Gladstone Regional Council, may have lead to a situation where the health of many of my constituents may have been placed at risk,” Mr Messenger said.

“The Chair of the Council Water Committee revealed at a public meeting that he had known about the water supply and quality problem since the last council election, but had done nothing to warn the residents.

“I have been talking to parents and grandparents who allege that their children and family members have been suffering unexplained serious ill health for years and are now demanding an investigation into the quality of their water supply which they have always thought was of an appropriate drinking water standard.

“I have questioned both local and state authorities and have been extremely disappointed by the level of cooperation, openness and transparency shown.

“I’d be very disappointed if this issue was referred back to that local authority for its own investigation because the senior elected officials and senior council officers obviously have played a crucial role in the water crisis at Bororen,” he said.

- Statement by Member for Burnett Rob Messenger

Full story on the referral available at
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2009/10/30/gladstone-council-referred-cmc/

Gladstone Regional Council's Comments on the story are available
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2009/10/30/council-responds-referral/