With just five weeks out from the local government election on Saturday, March 28, the Queensland State Government has established Queensland’s Councillor Conduct Tribunal.

And a wealth of legal and investigative experience has been appointed to sit on the Tribunal, an independent body charged with handling complaints of misconduct by councillors.

Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the body plays an important role in ensuring the highest possible standards of our local government representatives are upheld for the good of the community. 

June Anstee has been appointed as tribunal president, having acted in the role since December 2019, and is joined by highly respected members of the legal profession Jane Bishop, Jane Stuckey, Brendan Walker-Munro, Timothy Ryan, Peter Black and Sally Robb.

The Tribunal was established as part of the government’s rolling reform into local government, which also included the establishment of the Office of the Independent Assessor and councillor Code of Conduct.

Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said each appointee came armed with valuable and diverse professional experience.

“These new members include practising lawyers and barristers and bring to the table legal experience that has covered international tribunals, United Nations experience in post-war Kosovo, Australian Taxation Office investigations, human rights and discrimination law, criminal law and administrative law.”