Hanney’s updated personal interest register lists the money he received for the yacht race for the first time. However,it does not include details of which individuals donated the money,instead the money is described as a grant from the Australian Sports Foundation which was the online platform Hanney used to raise the funds.
The City of Melbourne has refused to publicly release the results of its investigation into Hanney,and a freedom of information request byThe Age for the results has been rejected.
Hanney was paid between $510,000 and $519,999 a year as chief executive of the City of Melbourne – a higher salary than Premier Daniel Andrews.
Prior to Friday,the council most recently published a personal interests register for Hanney in March last year. Its September 2022 update included all councillors and other key council staff except Hanney.
Councillors and key council staff are required to submit records of their personal interests under the Local Government Act,and councils are required to publish the records.
The Local Government Inspectorate can prosecute people who fail to comply with these requirements with a maximum penalty of $10,904.40.
“Declaring and publicising personal interests on a regular basis creates an awareness of the things that may impact a person’s decision-making and increases transparency,” the inspectorate states on its website.
A spokesman for the City of Melbourne declined to comment on why there was a six-month delay in publishing Hanney’s register and whether any penalty had been incurred.
“The preparation of personal interest returns for publication is a complex and comprehensive process to ensure council can meet its reporting obligations while not disclosing confidential information,” the spokesman said.
Justin Hanney’s fundraising page on the Australian Sports Foundation’s website to raise funds for the yacht he co-owns with Nick Foa.
Ratepayers Victoria and Council Watch has reported the City of Melbourne’s failure to declare Hanney’s personal interests to the inspectorate.
“Given this is the same chief executive who allegedly resigned amid an investigation into allegations about donations,it is vital that the personal interest disclosures are immediately published,” said Dean Hurlston,vice president of Ratepayers Victoria and Council Watch. “Hanney was employed by the city until 2022. We cannot find any disclosures on him,but plenty on his senior staff and councillors. Why?”
The City of Melbourne’s investigation into Hanney was undertaken after theonline yacht fundraiser was uncovered,including the fact anonymous donations of $4545 and $9090 were made for the yacht,which was co-owned by Nick Foa,head of transport at the Victorian Department of Transport.
Foa resigned in September last year following an internal investigation by the government into the donations,the results of which have not been released.
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Campbell Rose,chief executive of VicTrack,left the government rail agency last month following reports inThe Age that he made the anonymous donations,and also after 12 months of unexplained “extended leave”.
Hanney started a new role last month as a senior partner for consulting firm Davidson,which provides services to the local government sector.
Orca Civil,the Local Government Inspectorate and Hanney were contacted for comment but did not respond.
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