Case adjourned until March

Louisa Rust

Shellharbour City Council’s Land and Environment Court action against two of its own councillors was adjourned to March after four days of hearing.

The million dollar case is based on allegations Cr Helen Stewart and Cr Geoff Rose were involved in the leaking of confidential information regarding Council general manager Brian Weir’s salary, contract renewal and a draft report to a website in 2006.

Several councillors and witnesses were grilled in court including local businessman Peter Holstein, who reneged on his previous evidence.

Mr Holstein, who posted confidential documents on the website, said he did not receive the information via fax as previously stated under oath, but by post.

He also said he was in possession of a note that suggested Cr Stewart was not the source of the leak. He was ordered to produce it in court.

Mr Holstein said he had received the information four hours before the councillors on June 15, 2006.

Shellharbour City mayor David Hamilton wrongly stated under oath that Mr Weir’s contract details and remuneration became public after council approval.

This was corrected by a council staff member who said that Mr Weir’s salary was released in the annual report, but the renumeration and the contract were confidential.

When questioned on whether he had discussed the salary details at a Labor Caucus meeting on June 15, the mayor said the salary figures were not discussed at the meeting.

In the witness box on Tuesday, Cr Don Briggs said that he had been informed of the details of Mr Weir’s salary and contract renewal details at a Labor Caucus meeting in March, before they were revealed to councillors at the June 15 meeting.

The council has alleged Cr Rose and Cr Stewart leaked the confidential information to the website with the help of website moderator Shirley Hollis and contributor Peter Holstein.

The council barristers presented records of the mobile, landline, Internet and fax use of Cr Rose, Cr Stewart and Ms Hollis, allegedly showing communications related to the leak.

The records included a call from Cr Rose to Ms Hollis on June 15, 2006, 25 minutes after the confidential meeting where councillors voted on Mr Weir’s contract renewal, and a series of calls between Mrs Hollis and Cr Stewart on the same night.

However, on Thursday Cr Rose and Cr Mifsud told the court they were at Shellharbour Workers Club until 11pm, after the information had been published on the website.

Alleged evidence of a phone call between Cr Mifsud and Cr Rose’s landlines at 8.14pm was deemed impossible by the pair.

Internet records also show that Cr Rose’s computer was online before the salary figures were posted, however, Cr Rose said his daughter had used the computer.

Cr Stewart’s husband Eric said under oath that his cat knocked a cup of tea over the draft report the night it was leaked, suggesting she was not the source of the leak.