(29/07/2010)

The clash between Moreton Bay Concil Mayor, Allan Sutherland and Councillor Chris Whiting over allegations of misleading public comments has ended ...with no penalty imposed other than a warning letter.

Last Week, the Mayor referred Cr Whiting for investiagtion under the new Local Government Act for allegedgly misleading ratepayers over his comments about Concil's significant income from water.

In a statement issued last night, Councillor Whiting said no punishment had been handed out because he had not misled the public and the Mayor could not prove he had done anything wrong.

He said the Mayor had at the time stated that the punishment ranged up to 2 years jail but instead he had received a finger wagging from the Mayor through a written warning.

This revealed how flimsy the allegation was in the first place.

Cr Whiting said that while he did not agree with the Mayor's ruling, he respected the process under the new local goverment act and also agreed with him that each councillor should be open and accountable.

He said it had been made clear to him that if he repeated the so-called inappropriate behavour, which was talking about the income from the water business, then it would be regarded as misconduct.

Cr Whiting said he would not be intimidated into silence and would keep asking questions on behalf of ratepayers.