Wilson determines committee breaches

Allegations of breaches of Gosford Council's Code of Conduct by council committee members do not go to an independent review panel.

They are investigated and determined by the Council's general manager Mr Peter Wilson.

This contrasts with allegations of breaches of the code by councillors, which are referred by Mr Wilson to an independent reviewer or panel if they are serious enough.

The Code, published on the council's website, stipulates that complaints about the conduct of committee members "should be addressed in writing to the general manager".

"The general manager is responsible for making inquiries, or causing inquiries to be made, into complaints alleging breach of the Code of Conduct regarding ... members of council committees (other than councillors), and will determine such matters," the code states in clause 12.3.

The code lists sanctions for committee members which "depend on the severity, scale and importance of the breach".

These include censure, requiring the person to apologise, counselling, prosecution and removing the person from the committee.

Council policy, June 2008 Code of Conduct, Gosford Council