Former council boss wanted to “get rid of” staff
Looted City of Parramatta boss Gail Connolly said there were “only a few more council workers to save and we’re going to get burned” while the Pink Ladies were “playing the long game”, according to a text message released by the anti-corruption inquiry.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption’s public inquiry on Monday heard messages revealing Connolly and senior staffers Angela Jones-Blayney and Roxanne Thornton discussed cutting key staff from the western Sydney council. This included a message Jones-Blayney sent to Thornton about employees, which read: “All those assholes didn’t do anything.”
Jones-Blayney, the council’s executive director of city engagement and experience, gave evidence on her third day as a witness at the council’s public inquiry.
The ICAC is investigating Connolly, Jones-Blayney and Thornton as part of Operation Navarra over a range of allegations, including that they deliberately subverted recruitment and promotion processes within the council to benefit friends and colleagues. The trio were part of a group calling themselves the “Pink Ladies”.
The commission saw text messages sent from Connolly to Jones-Blayney in September 2023 about plans to “get rid” of some staff, a month after Jones-Blayney started working at the council.
“The Pink Ladies are playing the long game – that’s how we’ll achieve success [Ryde councillor Roy Maggio] Finally. Parramatta is already better for having you and Roxy [Thornton]”The text has been read.
“Today’s ET meeting was the best we’ve had so far because it involved some camaraderie and some laughter. We’ve got a few more to save and we’ll be burned. Keep up the good work, Ang.”
Jones-Blayney later sent a message to Thornton in October: “It’ll all come out next week and move quickly, but as I told you today, I’ll be walking around that floor with my head held high because all those scumbags did nothing”.
Jones-Blayney said the message was about a new interim structure she would announce later that month; This included the appointment of Michelle Carter, a former colleague of Jones-Blayney from Ryde Council and fellow Pink Lady. The inquest was previously told Carter played a key role in writing the position description for a new role in the City of Parramatta and was subsequently appointed directly.
Parramatta’s ‘Eastwick Witches’
The ICAC also heard that in November 2023, Connolly sent a message to Thornton and Jones-Blayney saying “some of the early content in the Sheree emails referred to the two of you as the Witches of Eastwick”. The 1987 horror-comedy film stars Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon as three witches.
“[Not] I’m pretty sure I’m the third witch!!” Connolly said.
The inquest previously heard that former employee Sheree Gover’s emails and Teams messages were spied on by administrators at the council under Connolly’s approval, following a series of complaints to the City of Parramatta reporting system Stopline. Jones-Blayney believed that the complaints about him and Thornton were orchestrated by Gover as part of a wider campaign to have Jones-Blayney’s contract terminated by forcing other employees to also make complaints.
Connolly then sent another message to the group chat telling Jones-Blayney she should be Cher, Thornton was Pfeiffer and she hoped to be Sarandon.
“This is the best!!” Thornton wrote.
“We love it,” Jones-Blayney replied.
“I love Susan Sarandon.!!” Connolly was sent back. Thornton’s text message four minutes later read: “Sheree and Shannon [Kliendienst, a former council employee] can f—- right away”.
Counsel assisting Joanna Davidson, SC, asked Jones-Blayney if she was offended by being called the “Eastwick Witches”.
“Not in this context,” he said. “I said I loved being Cher.”
The investigation into Gover then moved towards finding evidence that he had used inappropriate language in Teams messages to other staff, the inquest heard. Davidson asked Jones-Blayney, who had previously referred to his own team as “incompetent idiots” and “crooks” in a series of text messages seen early in the investigation, whether it was appropriate for Gover to be investigated in light of Jones-Blayney’s own choice of language.
“I think those are two very different things,” Jones-Blayney said. “I’m not making excuses for the language I use on my personal phone, but I think a council device involving multiple staff and managers is a bit different.”
The investigation will continue on Wednesday.
Ellie Busby is a Parramatta reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
