Council inflames dispute with Gazette by public accusations

Sharon Webb

FOUR MEANDER Valley councillors revealed at their February meeting they had no prior knowledge of a public statement by general manager John Jordan which made accusations against the Gazette.

In the statement on the council’s website and Facebook page, Mr Jordan accused the Gazette of inaccuracy, bias and being ‘at odds with Australian Press Council standards’.

The managing editor of the Gazette, Ms Elizabeth Douglass, has subsequently said Mr Jordan had been ‘sparing with the truth’ when he told councillors at that meeting that she had responded only once to his four complaint letters.

‘I responded four times, once to each of Mr Jordan’s letters’, she said.

‘Also untrue is his comment to councillors that I said his letters could not be published because they would damage the reputation of the Gazette. We could not publish them because they contained defatory content.’

In her 10 December letter to Mr Jordan and councillors, Ms Douglass wrote:

... we have made the decision not to publish Mr Jordan’s letter ... because some of his comments, without a proper basis, could be considered defamatory ...

If Mr Jordan would like to submit a revised letter, clarifying the council’s decision-making process for our readers and adopting a more objective tone, then that letter will be considered for publication.

‘Mr Jordan ignored that request, insisting that his letters be published without amendment,’ she said.

Mr Jordan’s accusations about the Gazette pivot mainly on a story about the appointment of the council’s governance officer, Jacqui Parker, during Covid-19.

Mr Jordan said the story invaded Ms Parker’s privacy and was not in the public interest.

He accused the Gazette of ‘harvesting personal information’ on Ms Parker after he had refused to provide the name, qualifications and experience of the person who had been appointed governance officer.

Mr Jordan is also dissatisfied with the Gazette’s report that councillors supported the Mole Creek abattoir further to a recommendation by a council planner.

In February’s meeting Mr Jordan confirmed that he had ordered the public statement be posted and that councillors had not been aware it would happen.

But according to the Local Government Act 1993, it is the mayor’s function to act as the spokesperson of the council.

Cllr Frank Nott maintained that every councillor should have been made aware of the public comments, which were unsigned and made apparently on behalf of the council, before they were posted.

Cllr Rodney Synfield said he personally would not have made parts of the statement.

Cllrs John Temple and Andrew Sherriff confirmed they had not been aware of it.

Hot on the heels of Mr Jordan publishing the statement on 8 February, Cllr Tanya King posted it on several Facebook pages.

With the statement, Mr Jordan also posted the three letters which the Gazette has refused to print because they are defamatory of the Gazette and its staff.

Mayor Wayne Johnston stayed tight lipped after resident Emma Hamilton asked each councillor to indicate if they had been aware of it or approved the public statement.

Then twice he suggested that councillors could allow the issue to be handed over to Mr Jordan so he could respond instead.

In the website and Facebook statement, Mr Jordan wrote:

In recent months, the council has written (several times) to the editor of the Meander Valley Gazette seeking corrections on factually incorrect reporting about council staff and business. The editor has refused to publish council’s most recent three letters, or correct the public record through a printed retraction.

When asked by Cllr Temple whether the Gazette had responded to his letters, Mr Jordan replied, ‘We did receive a reply from the editor, and to paraphrase the response, they regarded it as inappropriate to publish the letters on the grounds that it would damage the reputation of the Gazette’.

Cllrs Stephanie Cameron, Susie Bower, and Tanya King said nothing during the discussion.

Cllr Sherriff said he didn’t have a problem with the public statement posting.

Cllr Temple asked the mayor what practical things could be done to improve the relationship between the council and the Gazette. The mayor said, ‘We’ll have to wait and see’.

Cllr Kelly asked Mr Jordan whether any thought had been given to complaining to The Examiner newspaper about the Gazette.

Mr Jordan said, ‘Yes there has. And we’re also considering recourse to the Australian Press Council.’