LABOR councillors have lashed out at Newcastle's new lord mayor Ross Kerridge, accusing him of breaking "the public's trust before even taking his oath of office" because he wants Labor party dissident and the author of a 104-page dossier detailing alleged bullying within the party, Andrew Piper, to be the council's temporary chief of staff.
The Newcastle Herald has confirmed Mr Piper has attended meetings with Cr Kerridge but denies claims he introduced himself to council staff as the "lord mayor's chief of staff".
Mr Piper said he had applied for the job on a casual basis until the City of Newcastle (CN) staff member currently on leave returns in February.
Labor Cr Elizabeth Adamczyk, who was the subject of allegations in Mr Piper's dossier, labelled Operation Bluehaven, said it appeared Cr Kerridge was "prioritising allegiance over process and merit".
"Kerridge seems to have broken the public's trust before even taking his oath of office as Newcastle's next lord mayor," she said.
"Within days of his election, he appears to be positioning his allies for key roles at CN, disregarding his campaign promises of transparency and good governance.
"Kerridge's seeming attempt to reward an ally involved in his campaign's dirty smear tactics undermines the integrity of office he is about to assume."
Cr Kerridge said Mr Piper shares his values of transparency, respect and accountability.
He said he suggested Mr Piper as a candidate for the temporary position while the current chief of staff is on extended leave.
"I suggested Mr Piper as an ideal candidate for that role given we work well together, his suitability for the role as described in the position description and our shared values," he said.
Cr Kerridge said he asked CN chief executive Jeremy Bath's advice about appointing a temporary chief of staff.
He said he was advised that given the short nature of the vacancy, it was agreed with HR and the legal department it would be appropriate to suggest a candidate to be interviewed by the chief executive.
"Mr Piper is in the process of doing so," Cr Kerridge said. "Given I wished to avoid wasting council time on repeated briefings, I asked Mr Bath if he was happy for Mr Piper to participate in briefings in the interim with himself and senior council staff.
"Mr Bath agreed via email that this would be appropriate."
Cr Kerridge said he did not believe there was a conflict of interest beyond that of any other person working in local government, given the Operation Bluehaven report was an internal Labor document which he had not seen and the fact both he and Mr Piper were no longer Labor party members.
"If the role becomes open in future there will be an open recruitment process conducted by CN, as there should be for any position, in accordance with the advice from executive managers at council," Cr Kerridge said.
Mr Piper resigned from the Labor party after it dumped an investigation into bullying allegations brought by six Newcastle members.
The bullying controversy includes untested allegations against Cr Adamczyk and Wallsend branch president David Norris.
Two other former Labor members who also resigned, Tahlia Kelso and Julie Davies, joined Cr Kerridge's Our Newcastle independents ticket but were unsuccessful in their bid for election.
Mr Piper worked with Cr Kerridge during his election campaign, and said he was willing to work with anyone who wanted to work with him in a professional capacity, including Labor party members.
He previously volunteered on the election campaigns of Newcastle Federal MP Sharon Claydon and state Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery.
"It would be basically a great honour to be afforded this opportunity, which is why I am going through the process legitimately in terms of following the steps I have been told I need to follow," he said.
Mr Piper said he was not present for any confidential or sensitive discussions, except for a 3.5-hour meeting with Mr Bath that was specific to the chief of staff role.
The meetings Mr Piper said he attended were regarding community events the lord mayor had been requested to attend, a meet and greet tour and town hall induction.
"I didn't perceive that to be confidential and I didn't have to sign NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] or anything," he said. "At any point in time I'm more than happy to leave the room or not listen in, but it hasn't come up."
As the lord mayor, Cr Kerridge is entitled to administrative support. However, the Herald understands those staff are not the lord mayor's 'personal staff' and are recruited following standard CN policies, reporting through executive management to the chief executive.
A CN spokeswoman said the appointment of staff could only be undertaken by the general manager. She confirmed Mr Piper emailed his application for the chief of staff role on Monday evening last week and was interviewed for the role on Friday.
"Following a conversation between CN's chief executive and lord mayor, where it was explained that the incumbent chief of staff was on leave, Andrew Piper submitted a written application for the role under a casual arrangement," she said.
"The process is continuing and no letter of offer has been made.
"Mr Piper has only attended meetings at City Hall and our Council Administration Centre since Wednesday when Dr Kerridge commenced his role as lord mayor. He has done so as a guest of the lord mayor."
Labor Cr Deahnna Richardson said the "apparent cronyism doesn't pass the pub test".
"Days into his new administration and Kerridge already appears to have resorted to providing 'jobs for the boys'," she said.
"It's disturbingly similar to what we saw under former lord mayor McCloy, who was reprimanded publicly by ICAC and the Office of Local Government for almost identical behaviour.
"The only difference is that Dr Kerridge is coming from one public sector role in health to another at council, he should know that people employed in the public sector must follow the proper process."
Cr Richardson said the saga betrayed "the voters of Newcastle who were promised a platform of transparency and accountability".
In 2012, the corruption watchdog reminded Newcastle council of its responsibilities in response to concerns about the lord mayor's chief of staff role.
Then lord mayor Jeff McCloy asked for his former campaign manager Josh Hodges to be appointed chief of staff, later withdrawing a mayoral minute on the issue so the council could advertise the position.
Liberal Cr Callum Pull said all council jobs should be afforded on merit.
"If a person has applied for a job, not been given a job, simply applied for one and is being treated as if it is a fait accompli that they'll get it, that is a serious concern and is the kind of thing that ICAC would look at," he said.
Cr Kerridge, a former Labor life member, left the party earlier this year to stand for lord mayor after he lost a preselection challenge to Cr Nuatali Nelmes.
