Warning of nepotism and cronyism in Tasmanian local government

News

Tasmania’s Integrity Commission has called for the development of a model recruitment policy to address perceptions of nepotism and cronyism in the state’s local government sector.

In a report tabled in the Tasmanian Parliament today, the commission has also recommended the reintroduction of obligations on councils to appoint employees based on merit.

A similar provision was removed in 2005.

The report includes observations from an investigation of recruitment processes at an unnamed Tasmanian council where several jobs were filled without internal or external advertising.

The investigation found a failure to recognise conflicts of interest, and a lack of a policy to deal with conflicts of interest.

Source: Tasmania Integrity Commission media release; full report here.