Leaks reveal fresh details of how CEO was hired
A leaked email reveals a deputy mayor with ties to the woman given the $500,000 chief executive job at Redland City Council attempted to change the hiring timeline for the role, a process he was later accused of politically influencing.
The email is the latest in a series of leaks to this imprint from within the council that show a process marred by conflict of interest concerns and decisions made behind closed doors.
The council has refused to release documents that might shed light on the issue and recently undertook a corporate restructuring that a risk expert said could hamper transparency at the council.
Afterwards a recruiter left for what he called “significant internal issues”one second was used. The eventually successful candidate, Louise Rusan, was not initially shortlisted. later reinstated as candidate.
In late January 2025, the night before the panel was to interview the top five candidates, including Rusan, deputy mayor Julie Talty asked mayor Jos Mitchell and panel chair Micah Beaumont, who is also the CEO’s assistant, if more time could be devoted to vetting the final two candidates before they were presented to councillors.
“I have some concerns about the timing of the interviews and the move to present the proposed candidate(s) to the council on Monday,” he wrote.
“If we agree on a preferred candidate but then change the selection due to hidden issues with references etc., we can open it that way. [sic] legal challenge.”
Two days later, after the top two candidates were chosen and Rusan was eliminated, Beaumont wrote a letter to Mitchell and Talty, saying that media controls had “raised concerns” about one of the candidates.
“It’s too late to be lifted [the candidate] “We have abandoned this process, and we could not do so based on allegations alone,” he wrote.
After discussions with the full council, a majority of council members supported the other candidate but also wanted to hear from a “close third candidate,” who was Rusan, according to an email from Beaumont to council members.
Long-term councilor Wendy Boglary later wrote to internal audit and risk figures expressing her concern at the change to the agreed process.
He signaled potential political interference by writing that Talty was the driving force behind Rusan getting another shot at the $500,000 gig.
Rusan worked on the council for almost all of Talty’s term as a councilor, which began in 2012, and council staff describe the pair as close. Last month, while Talty was acting mayor, he and Rusan were seen together at an RSPCA fundraiser at the governor’s home.
Talty was contacted for this story but did not respond by deadline.
The latest leak comes shortly after the council rejected, without giving justification, a right to information (RTI) request for emails relating to the chief executive’s recruitment in the context of a restructured organization that a risk expert said could undermine transparency.
The restructure Rusan introduced in November removed the director role and moved the RTI, audit, ethics and integrity teams under the direction of the council’s lead lawyer, Andrew Ross.
Ross, who was criticized by the Queensland Ombudsman in 2017 for his role in sending unreasonable threats of legal action to voters via social media posts.is currently being sued by Mitchell for defamation over an email he sent to staff.
QUT associate professor Annette Quayle, who served on Ipswich City Council’s audit and risk committee for seven years, said councils could structure their organizations as they wished, but they needed to ensure they were managed in a way that promoted transparency, accountability and ethical decision-making.
Qualye said under the Local Government Act councilors were required to be able to obtain independent assurance on governance risk and compliance, and placing these transparency measures under the legal team carried risks.
“I think this reduces the perceived independence of assurance functions because you can make it harder for elected councilors to fulfill their statutory responsibilities,” he said.
“Legal teams naturally focus on legal risk, litigation exposure and protecting the organization, and this can be completely at odds with their integrity and internal audit functions,” he said.
Last week the council denied this byline access to internal emails related to Rusan’s hiring, without giving any reason.
After multiple extensions and about a week before the decision was due, an executive from the law firm took over as decision maker.
A council employee, who spoke freely with this imprint on condition of anonymity, said it might be because “they think secrecy is a shame in Redlands.”
A council spokesman said the restructure had improved the alignment of services and created “a more integrated and effective approach to governance and compliance across the council”.
They said the council followed due process regarding RTIs and all correct procedures were followed when Rusan was hired.
“Anyone who believes they may have evidence of impropriety by the Council on any matter should forward that evidence to the relevant authority,” they said.
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