FORMER Young Shire Councillor John Walker said he was shocked to hear he and his former council colleague Allan Miller were at the centre of potential Code of Conduct issues.
Mr Walker spoke to The Witness yesterday and said the first he heard of any concerns was on Friday.
“When the Hilltops administrator (Wendy Tuckerman) called on Friday to inform me if my bid to be on the Local Representative Committee (LRC) had been successful, she told me she knew little else except she had become aware of the potential Code of Conduct issues as part of the process.
This alone, according to Mr Walker, precluded both men from being selected for the LRC.
"It was news to me... surely the person affected should be the first person told," he said.
Mr Walker said he had no idea what the issues were but he’d made representattions to NSW Member for Cootamundra Katrina Hodgkinson.
“I have a right to know,” he said.
When asked how he felt about no longer being able to represent local interests he said, “I might not be representing the people anymore but I will still represent them and I look forward to the next local government election which I hope will truly test what this process does,” he said.
Cr Allan Miller said he had been seeking more information through Hilltops Council’s interim deputy manager David Aber who said he would have more information today.
“The way we found out is not good enough,” he said.
He said he had been urged to apply for the LRC by the Goldenfields County Council chairman. Mr Miller was Young Shire Council’s representative on that committee.
“If I knew anything about this I would not have nominated for the LRC.
Mrs Tuckerman during the process of selecting members shewas made aware there had been two former Young Ccouncillors referred to the Office of Local Government for review for potential code of conduct issues.
“Those councillors have been informed,” she said.
“I am not able to discuss the context of those code of conduct issues and at the end of the day the six councillors that will form the Young LRC have been selected because of their commitment to moving the Hilltops Council forwards and focusing on creating a stronger and better region,” Mrs Tuckerman said.
