Media Release - 25th June 2021

A third-year student of criminology has succeeded to have a third Application for a Restraining Order under the GIPA Act 2009 dismissed by the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) Friday 25th June 2021.

Self-represented grandmother and student of criminology Telina Webb successfully appealed the NCAT's March 2020 Decision of Principal Member Francis Marks, successfully arguing Mr Marks had acted with bias and outside of the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

The Applicant Port Stephens Council's legal team was headed by Level22 Sydney Barrister Brenda Tronson, and included Partner Carlo Zoppo of Lindsay Taylor Lawyers.  Supporting this duo were Council's Head of Legal Services Lisa Marshall, and the Council Governance Manager Tony Wickham.

"Principal Member Marks' Decision was so unreasonable and clearly biased, the decision warranted appealing," says Ms Webb.

Under the GIPA Act 2009, members of the public have a legally enforceable right to access government information, and it was the intention of Parliament in drafting the legislation that it support open, transparent government.

However, since commencing requests for information under the GIPA Act, Ms Webb has continually experienced obstacles in accessing information held by Port Stephens Council, information which has been readily classified as Open Access Mandated for Release free of charge.

Since August 2011, when the requests commenced, Council used fasle claims a risk of harm existed should information be released.  In July 2018 Carlo Zoppo of Lindsay Taylor lawyers provided a Council letter to Ms Webb which was authored by Council's Governance Manager Tony Wickham.

The letter, dated February 2015, was written by Tony Wickham and sent to the Office of the NSW Information & Privacy Commissioner, in response to a complaint from Ms Webb's husband Mr Paul McEwan.

The letter made clear to the Commissioner, that Open Access Information Mandated for Release had been withheld from the couple because apprehended violence orders had been issued against them, and that they presented a serious risk to public safety.

These claims were unfounded and originated from Council.  However Council's Tony Wickham forwarded the letter to the NSW Office of Local Government as well as the Anti-Discrimination Board.  There are also indications Tony Wickham made the false document available to the NCAT for the purposes of the forming of Tribunal Decisions.

Later, following further requests for information to Council, Council released documents detailing an email trail of communications between Council's Governance Manager Tony Wickham and a member of the public to conceal Open Access Information on the basis there existed a risk of harm.

This dialogue was initiated by Council's Tony Wickham.

The couple have been fighting to clear their names from false and unfounded allegations from Port Stephens Council, first published on Council's website by Tony Wickham in February 2013, where he states information has been withheld because of a risk of harm, serious harassment, or intimidation existing should the information be released to the couple.

These requests for Council records culminated in an NCAT decision in March 2017 stating the couple presented a risk of harm "likened to molestation of a person."  Council's false claim of a risk of harm was heard in confidential session with the Tribunal, with neither Ms Webb or her husband given the opportunity to defend themselves before the Tribunal.

Friday's NCAT Decision is the end of a long battle against the Council's repeated efforts to restrain Ms Webb from requesting information under the GIPA Act 2009, with the Tribunal's Senior Member Goodwin making it clear "The respondent (Ms Webb) has a legally enforceable right to be provided with the information she seeks.....", agreeing with Parliament's intentions in regard to the Act.  The Senior Member also referred to Council's Tony Wickham's claim he felt intimidated by Ms Webb, however the Tribunal rejected that claim on the basis of absence of evidence.

The Decision also makes clear from Senior Member Goodwin's assessment of Tony Wickham's Affidavit of Evidence that even "during the busiest 34-month period of receipt of access applications from (Ms Webb), (Council) spent 2.3 hours per week in dealing with those applications," deducing there was no basis to conclude that there had been any adverse effect on the ability of the general public to access government information from Port Stephens Council.

On 30th April 2021 Mr McEwan was also successful with the Tribunal in relation to his request for mandated to be released pecuniary interest disclosure records.

The claim of a risk of harm yet again raised by the same Council whose barrister Brenda Tronson suggested Mr McEwan might commit identify fraud should the disclosures be provided to him, was effectively quashed with Senior Member Gracie making it clear in the McEwan Decision "there is not a scintilla of evidence" Mr McEwan would cause any person the harm claimed.

The couple today feel after five long years in the NCAT forum, and after suffering in excess of two hundred and seventy instances of being accused by Port Stephens Council of presenting a serious risk of harm, they have both finally and justly been vindicated.

Port Stephens Councilors have been petitioned about the huge expenditure of the public purse on unnecessary legal teams to address freedom of information requests, and were asked for evidence of necessary approvals, however none have shown any interest apart from one Councilor raising the issue at a Council Meeting in November 2020 and still awaiting an acceptable response.