NSW Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig will scrap councils' code of conduct process, describing the system as a "shambles".
Mr Hoenig confirmed this week he was working on a new statewide system that would be implemented before the local government elections in September next year.
"The current code of conduct is not fit for purpose," he said.
"I am working with the Office of Local Government to rewrite it so that democratically elected councils can get on with doing the job their communities expect them to do."
It comes as the Newcastle Herald revealed this month significant community and Labor party concern about a confidential code of conduct investigation into links between City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath and a misleading letter-writing campaign under the name Scott Neylon.
Mr Bath has been best friends with Mr Neylon for 25 years. The Herald revealed in July that dozens of letters and online comments have been published in media outlets over 13 years under the name Scott Neylon, which twist the truth, distort reality and follow Mr Bath's career progression, attacking his critics and supporting his employers
Speaking generally about the code of conduct system, Mr Hoenig said it was broken and a new method was needed to restore the public's faith in local government.
The system was introduced in December 2018 and was promoted as going to usher in a "new era in the ethical operation of local councils".
Just few years on, Mr Hoenig - who served as the mayor of the City of Botany Bay for more than 30 years before entering Parliament - said it was too costly and time consuming.
The new system will be aimed at reducing the cost of investigations, many of which are upwards of $100,000, and freeing up council staff to get on with the job of providing infrastructure and services.
The Office of Local Government has received more than 4000 code of conduct complaints against councillors and council staff in the past three financial years.
Managing the complaints has cost councils $6.7 million in the four years to 2022.
A NSW Ombudsman review in 2016 of the NSW government's use of external investigators found it could "be costly and may not always produce effective results".
Issues identified by the Ombudsman included not interviewing relevant witnesses or obtaining relevant documents, and factual conclusions being drawn in investigation reports on the basis of evidence which does not meet an applicable standard of proof.
Mr Hoenig declined this week to comment on individual code of conduct matters, including the controversial three-month probe into the Scott Neylon letters.
Newcastle councillors voted unanimously in favour of the investigation in July after it was revealed Mr Hoenig had written to Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes asking that the letter-writing scandal be examined.
Mr Hoenig's intervention followed a complaint by Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery, who has been a major target of the nasty letters over a number of years.
"It's undeniable that Mr Jeremy Bath, City of Newcastle CEO, is the author of the letters and arranged for Mr Neylon to take the fall for him," Ms Hornery said.
Mr Bath denies writing the letters and Mr Neylon has told the Herald via email that he penned the letters.
In accordance with the council's code of conduct policy, the investigation and its deliberations were held in secret.
The terms of reference, which also remain a secret, were set by a combination of information provided by the council and the letter from Mr Hoenig to Cr Nelmes.
Victims of the letters and rank-and-file Labor members have publicly slammed the investigation, which did not contact the Newcastle Herald to request copies of the 19 letters, many of which have not been published.
The Herald reported on Thursday that Labor members have called on their party colleagues on Newcastle council to make public the confidential investigation report into Mr Bath.
The Georgetown-Waratah branch of the party passed a motion on Monday night noting the council's investigation into the "fraudulent and deceptive letter writing campaign allegedly conducted by 'Mr Scott Neylon' and Mr Neylon's close personal relationship with Council's CEO, Mr Jeremy Bath".
The motion "calls on the Lord Mayor and Labor Councillors to urgently release the Terms of Reference, evidence and report into the letter writing scandal to restore faith in the administration of Council".
Labor sources said they expected most of the 12 party branches in the Newcastle local government area to pass similar motions to the one approved by the Georgetown-Waratah members. They said Merewether branch would pass a similar motion in January and others would follow.
"It appears the Newcastle Herald has conducted a more extensive investigation into this scandal than Newcastle Council," the motion says. "Branch members have been confronted by members of the community concerned about this sorry saga."
The elected council resolved last week to "proactively consider and seek advice" on whether a letter summarising the investigation's outcome and the full investigation report could be released publicly under freedom of information laws.
Mr Bath told NBN News on Wednesday that he wants the investigation report made public.
"I have no choice but to now, to come out, and to come out swinging," he said.
"Of course I want the report out there, it's very frustrating that the report isn't out there so everyone can read it."
In July 2021, Newcastle councillors voted in a confidential session to release an independent code of conduct investigation report which resulted in former councillor Allan Robinson being censured for making offensive comments about fellow councillors.
Mr Bath said at the time that the report, compiled by Australian Workplace Training & Investigation, was "proactively" released by the council in accordance with freedom of information laws.
City of Newcastle's codes of conduct are based on the Office of Local Government's model.
The code's general obligations say council staff, councillors and committee members must not conduct themselves in a manner which is "likely to bring the council or other council officials into disrepute", "improper or unethical" or "an abuse of power".
The code says council staff must "act lawfully and honestly", work "ethically, efficiently, economically and effectively" and ensure that "any participation in political activities outside the service of the council does not interfere with the performance of their official duties".
Donna.page@newcastleherald.com.au
