The report by retired Supreme Court Justice Sir Graham Panckhurst further says there could be “fundamental problems related to leadership and culture” at the Otago Regional Council.
And it says there are serious issues around transparency at the council as advice and information are “not shared willingly, nor accurate and punctual”.
The report comes after council chief Sarah Gardner left the council at the time of the incident.
But today, with the release of the report, council chairman Andrew Noone said he and dr. Interim CEO Pim Borren fully supports the report’s findings.
Sir Graham said the council needed to take action on communication and transparency, and there was a “gap” between staff, or CEOs, and councilors.
“Essentially, the problem seems to be that staff think board members do not adhere to their role of strategic direction and policy; and in monitoring performance, board members do not treat staff with respect,” Sir Graham said.
“However, board members are of the opinion that staff seek to influence strategy and policy; and in terms of communication that they are only told what staff want them to know.
“If these perceptions are shown correctly, there are fundamental problems related to leadership and culture.”
The “Panckhurst investigation” was launched after Mr. Michael Laws obtained emails between council staff and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year following an EPA investigation into the dumping of rubble in the Clutha River in Balclutha last March.
The council called on the EPA to conduct the investigation because its staff were involved in the incident.
However, the emails between the two organizations indicated that the council soon brought in lawyers to protect staff and they then refused to speak to the EPA.
The subsequent EPA report noted that the lack of evidence limited his ability to assess the situation.
Nevertheless, the national environmental regulator later stood by as “thorough” in its investigation.
The construction company that dumped the rubbish, Andrew Haulage, was fined $ 1250 and the council was issued a warning letter because the construction company only put the material in the river after receiving advice from council staff.
The incident was described at the time by Cr Laws as “extraordinary embarrassment”.
Today, Sir Graham’s report said the communication gap at the council and the absence of transparency that had occurred with regard to the incident was significant.
The report confirms councilors were shocked to hear about the EPA investigation and only after the OtagoDaily Times start asking questions about it.
It goes on to make eight recommendations for the council to consider.
Cr Noone said today changes were implemented at the board in line with the report’s conclusions and recommendations.