February 5, 2017 12:00am
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/complaint-to-crime-and-corruption-commission-qld-over-alleged-councillor-domestic-violence-data-leak/news-story/adb48cf44c28101d24b61c8db92cdf71
A Queensland councillor is accused of giving a One Nation staffer who has had domestic violence concerns raised about him confidential information about his ex.
Logan City Council’s Darren Power has been referred to the state’s corruption watchdog following a conversation in which he was allegedly told about steps council had taken to protect One Nation policy adviser Sean Black’s former partner.
A complaint filed with the Crime and Corruption Commission alleges Cr Power may have relayed those steps to Mr Black – a former Logan City councillor who now works for One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts – during a subsequent conversation with him.
Cr Power strongly denies ever even being told about the protective measures, let alone passing them on to Mr Black.
He said in a text message to The Sunday Mail he thought the CCC complaint was part of a wider political game to punish him for speaking out about a contentious development on a koala habitat in his division.
“This sounds like a political payback for my opposition to the Carbrook development, or do they think I am running for One Nation?” Cr Power said.
It is understood the police, Local Government Minister Jackie Trad and Domestic Violence Minister Shannon Fentiman have all been made aware of the complaint.
The CCC refused to confirm a complaint had been received. But a spokeswoman for Logan Mayor Luke Smith declined to comment because of the “involvement” of the CCC.
Mr Black, despite repeated approaches, made no comment for this story but stopped it running in last week’s Sunday Mail by applying for an eleventh-hour injunction that prevented its publication.
Those orders were revoked during a closed court application hearing on Monday in Brisbane’s Supreme Court.
Cr Power, according to a document obtained by The Sunday Mail, was called into Mayor Smith’s office in December for a conversation about the domestic violence concerns against Mr Black.
“I found this unusual as Cr Smith and I have a difficult relationship and we rarely talk in private,” Cr Power writes in the document, dated January 22 this year, which was given to Mr Black.
“Cr Smith then told me that he had heard that Sean Black has a habit of domestic violence, that he ‘bashed his former wife’ and that ‘it was just a matter of time before it catches up with him and that the papers are aware’, and that ‘is (sic) all about to explode’ in the media.”
The long-time councillor, who has been repeatedly elected since 1997, claimed he believed Cr Smith had heard this information directly from Mr Black’s former partner:
"Cr Smith led me to believe that the story that was about to break in the paper would ‘mean Sean Black would be one of the most politically maligned individuals in Australia’,” the document says. It was supplied to the CCC as part of the complaint.
Mr Black, who was once banned from attending meetings without security guards amid bullying allegations, was elected as a Logan councillor in 2008 before he left in 2012 to return to the property industry.
He has previously said the ban was an attempt to silence him for his part in an unsuccessful coup against the former deputy mayor.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/complaint-to-crime-and-corruption-commission-qld-over-alleged-councillor-domestic-violence-data-leak/news-story/adb48cf44c28101d24b61c8db92cdf71
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| ACCUSATION DENIED: Logan City Council’s Darren Power is holding a sign during a 2015 council-led walk against domestic violence. |
A Queensland councillor is accused of giving a One Nation staffer who has had domestic violence concerns raised about him confidential information about his ex.
Logan City Council’s Darren Power has been referred to the state’s corruption watchdog following a conversation in which he was allegedly told about steps council had taken to protect One Nation policy adviser Sean Black’s former partner.
A complaint filed with the Crime and Corruption Commission alleges Cr Power may have relayed those steps to Mr Black – a former Logan City councillor who now works for One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts – during a subsequent conversation with him.
Cr Power strongly denies ever even being told about the protective measures, let alone passing them on to Mr Black.
He said in a text message to The Sunday Mail he thought the CCC complaint was part of a wider political game to punish him for speaking out about a contentious development on a koala habitat in his division.
“This sounds like a political payback for my opposition to the Carbrook development, or do they think I am running for One Nation?” Cr Power said.
It is understood the police, Local Government Minister Jackie Trad and Domestic Violence Minister Shannon Fentiman have all been made aware of the complaint.
The CCC refused to confirm a complaint had been received. But a spokeswoman for Logan Mayor Luke Smith declined to comment because of the “involvement” of the CCC.
Mr Black, despite repeated approaches, made no comment for this story but stopped it running in last week’s Sunday Mail by applying for an eleventh-hour injunction that prevented its publication.
Those orders were revoked during a closed court application hearing on Monday in Brisbane’s Supreme Court.
Cr Power, according to a document obtained by The Sunday Mail, was called into Mayor Smith’s office in December for a conversation about the domestic violence concerns against Mr Black.
“I found this unusual as Cr Smith and I have a difficult relationship and we rarely talk in private,” Cr Power writes in the document, dated January 22 this year, which was given to Mr Black.
“Cr Smith then told me that he had heard that Sean Black has a habit of domestic violence, that he ‘bashed his former wife’ and that ‘it was just a matter of time before it catches up with him and that the papers are aware’, and that ‘is (sic) all about to explode’ in the media.”
The long-time councillor, who has been repeatedly elected since 1997, claimed he believed Cr Smith had heard this information directly from Mr Black’s former partner:
"Cr Smith led me to believe that the story that was about to break in the paper would ‘mean Sean Black would be one of the most politically maligned individuals in Australia’,” the document says. It was supplied to the CCC as part of the complaint.
Mr Black, who was once banned from attending meetings without security guards amid bullying allegations, was elected as a Logan councillor in 2008 before he left in 2012 to return to the property industry.
He has previously said the ban was an attempt to silence him for his part in an unsuccessful coup against the former deputy mayor.
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