Moyne Shire councillor Jim Doukas has lodged a notice of motion for Tuesday's council meeting, asking chief executive officer Bill Millard to launch a "formal investigation" into allegations of secret contact between the shire and the Clean Energy Council.
A councillor can lodge a notice of motion on any matter they want formally considered by council. Councillors then vote on the motion, which passes if it receives a majority of votes.
In his notice of motion, Cr Doukas raised a number of questions about a CEC meeting allegedly convened because Moyne Shire wanted to improve the reputation of wind energy among local rate-payers.
Cr Doukas cited an email from an employee of power company AGL, who was present at the meeting. In the email the employee said he spoke directly with a Moyne Shire officer about the CEC meeting and the officer was "confused" about "the direction it was heading in".
He also cited allegations prominent wind farm opponents, including Cr Doukas himself, were singled out at the CEC meeting.
Cr Doukas asked for the details of contact between Moyne Shire officers and the CEC or AGL. He also asked when Mr Millard became aware of the potentially inappropriate contact.
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In response to questions from The Standard, the council executive has steadfastly denied any knowledge of or involvement in the meeting.
The Standard understands councillors have received similar denials from the executive.
In his notice of motion, Cr Doukas alleged the council had been blocking emails to councillors that contained information corroborating the allegations.
He also said he had made "several previous attempts" to get answers on the matter from the council executive, but hadn't received an adequate response.
He noted the apparent contradictions between the council's public statements on the matter and the evidence provided by the AGL employee.
"I consider it is now appropriate to ask Moyne Shire Councillors to support this motion and provide transparency and good governance in formally following up this matter," he said.
The notice of motion will be heard at Tuesday's open council meeting, which begins at 2pm at the Koroit Theatre and will also be livestreamed on the Moyne Shire Council Facebook page.
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Ben Silvester
Reporter covering politics, environment and health
Reporter covering politics, environment and health
