By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Claims that Casey CEO Glenn Patterson had said he’d sack any staff that leaked against a developer have been denied at an IBAC Operation Sandon hearing.
In a tapped call on 21 December 2018, John Woodman planning consultant Megan Schutz told of an associate Andrew Wyatt having a cup of coffee with Mr Patterson, in which they talked about the Pavilion Estate housing development.
Mr Wyatt reported that Mr Patterson had said he’d looked into the Pavilion Estate issue “in detail”, Ms Schutz told Mr Woodman.
He“basically said” he wasn’t there at the time of the decision, but the planning staff were a “bunch of f***wits”, “can’t argue anything” and “they just think their way or the highway“, according to Ms Schutz.
He would also look at the “FOI matter” in which Mr Woodman and Ms Schutz was seeking information on Casey’s staff complaints against the developer and who leaked them to The Age newspaper.
At the time, Mr Woodman threatened defamation action against The Age, IBAC heard.
“(If) my officers leaked material and I f***ing find out about it they’ll be f***ing fired, was what he said,” Ms Schutz told Mr Woodman.
At IBAC, Mr Patterson said he had “no knowledge” of the Pavilion matter, and denied telling Mr Wyatt the opposite.
He defended his planning staff, describing Ms Schutz’s assertion that they “can’t argue” as a “falsehood”
“My experience with all of my officers is that at all times they have acted with integrity and given fearless and frank advice.”
He denied expressing that he’d sack any council officer caught leaking.
Mr Patterson told IBAC that Ms Schutz – through Mr Wyatt – had sought the CEO’s intervention to accept her and Mr Woodman’s FOI request for “emails, telephone records, diary excerpts, all sorts of material” from current and former staff.
It related to allegations in The Age of Mr Woodman and Ms Schutz bullying staff. Mr Woodman and Ms Schutz believed Casey Council staff leaked the details to the newspaper.
Mr Patterson engaged his governance team and said the council wouldn’t be changing its course in refusing the application.
He admitted it was unusual that lawyers were bypassed and Ms Schutz sought to gain documents through the “back door”.
“I fully defended the position taken by my organisation, which was contrary, completely contrary, to what Ms Schutz wanted me to do.”
The FOI request was withdrawn a year later, about day two of the IBAC hearings.
