Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to respond to the complainant’s request to speak at Council meetings. The Council has explained why this happened and the steps taken to prevent repetition. It has also apologised to Mr X. We are satisfied with the Council’s actions to resolve this matter.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council prevented him from speaking at Council meetings. He also complaints the Council failed to address its officer’s incompetence or apologise.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council confirms that due to the amount of correspondence from Mr X, it provided a single point of contact. It redirected all emails from Mr X to a single email account mailbox. However, the Council failed to ensure this mailbox was monitored. Several emails from Mr X asking to speak at Council meetings went unanswered.
6. The Council has apologised to Mr X for this oversight and confirms it no longer redirects his emails to the single mailbox. The problem therefore should not reoccur.
7. Mr X asked to address the Council and to ask a question. The Council says it allowed him to address the meeting. However, it considered the question was a second address. The Council’s constitution limits a person to making only one address per meeting, Mr X’s second address was therefore not permitted.
8. I understand Mr X considers he was disenfranchised as the Council ignored his requests to speak. However, the Council has explained the reasons why officers did not respond him and apologised to him. I consider these actions a satisfactory remedy to the complaint.
9. Mr X also complains the Council has failed to address its officer’s incompetence. I disagree as it has explained why it failed to respond to his emails. Also, the Ombudsman cannot involve herself in personnel or disciplinary matters are these are outside our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we consider the Council’s actions a satisfactory remedy to the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman