THE decision to keep secret the details of the investigation into the Burnside Council is riddled with ironies, says the Adelaide Advertiser. Ironic that the inquiry itself was brought about because of alleged undue influence behind closed doors. Ironic that the State Government wants protection of witnesses when those likely to be witnesses were clamouring for a public audience for months before the concerns were heeded.
Ironic that the Government will use the evidence of the inquiry to decide if the council should be dismissed, but won't release the information because it could be unsubstantiated. Ironic that the exemption from the Freedom of Information Act was made by the executive government through regulations, avoiding any dissent of the Parliament.
Ironic that the legislative powers of councils to hear matters in camera in the Local Government Act explicitly exclude the ability to do so to avoid embarrassment, a power the inquiry has now been given with the stroke of a pen. Finally, it is ironic that the State Government will table the final report in Parliament to avoid legal action against those involved, but won't use this simple mechanism to protect any and all evidence given to the inquiry. Of course, chief among the reasons the inquiry will be kept secret, save for a sanitised report to be tabled, is damage control.
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