OPEN LETTER TO THE SHIRE OF YORK COUNCIL

LACK OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMPLIANCE WITH COMMON STANDARDS SET FOR EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS.

Unfortunately, despite being a new council, now acting in the best interests of the York community as a whole, for a while you will have to deal with problems associated with decisions made by previous administrations. Also, with the ineffectual nature of the overseeing governance provided by the Department of Local Government and Communities that is not your fault.

The problem is two-fold and excludes the apparent enforced secrecy and/or lack of transparency regarding the academic qualifications that should actually be required by senior Public Service Officers to obtain important positions within local government administration. (For instance, Human Resources Officer qualifications should be no less than Cert. 1V. but a HR Diploma should be demanded.)

One problem is which government department is responsible for ensuring compliance with the common standards of disclosure required from an applicant to be employed with a Local Government Shire Council?

The other is what Western Australian Government Legislation encapsulates this mandatory requirement so as to protect the use of public monies and ensure community interests are met by appropriate scrutinization of the past employment records and character of prospective employees?

Is such compliance contained within the Local Government Act, 1995, or the Public Sector Management
Act, 1994?

It does not matter because, within the Local Government sector, compliance, per se, appears not to be compulsory.

In 2007, Katrina Nicole Watts was hired by the York Tourist Bureau Inc. to administer municipal funding provided by the Shire of York, to the bureau, to promote tourism on behalf of the York community. Ms. Watts was a known convicted thief. Therefore no degree of separation of responsibility can be claimed by the then Shire of York Administration, Council and President for failing to ensure that its financial interest was fully protected.

As the major provider of funding, the Shire of York should have made itself aware of Ms. Watts past

employment record that included stealing as a servant from another government agency.

As a more recent example, on October 9, 2009, a New Zealand national, Christian Tarou Chadwick, was sentenced to three years jail for a drug-and-alcohol fueled, violent road-rage incident that defies description.

Mr. Chadwick threatened to kill other road users, rammed two police cars, attempted to either kill, or maim, a 53-year-old woman by throwing her into Albany Highway, assaulted Police Officers and had to be tasered  three times to effect his arrest 

Shortly after his release Mr. Chadwick was employed by the Shire of York’s Engineering and Works Department.

It is alleged that at his employment interview Mr. Chadwick: -

1) Chose to use, or was allowed to use, the name, Christian Tarou, rather than Christian Chadwick

    in a probable attempt to withhold his serious criminal record from the York community,

2) Mr. Tarou was apparently recommended for the position by a Senior Administration Officer of the

    Shire of York, who was a personal acquaintance of Mr. Tarou,

3) This officer may have used  their senior position to interfere in the employment process by advising the     then Shire of York, Engineering and Works Manager, that he should ignore other applications and employ       Mr. Tarou,

4) The employment position required the applicant to hold a current Western Australian Driver’s Licence. Mr.      Tarou’s licence had been suspended,

5) There is a distinct possibility that the names of Mr. Tarou’s previous employers were not properly   recorded by the Shire of York, as required on its official Employment Application Form, as Mr. Tarou had         just been released from jail and was not using his correct surname, 

6) It is also possible that Mr. Tarou was dismissed from his previous employment due to the severity of
   the charges laid against him and this may have not been properly recorded. Any dismissal from past
    employment must be recorded on the Shire of York’s Employment Application Form,

7) Post the date of his employment; Shire of York records were altered to register the employment
     of a Mr. Christian Chadwick, not Mr. Christian Tarou,

8) The Shire of York’s own Employment Application Form clearly states that ‘misrepresentation of the 
     facts is sufficient cause for dismissal. Therefore there is sufficient cause for Mr. Christian Tarou 
    Chadwick to have been dismissed,
 

9) It is possible that a Senior Administration Officer of the Shire of York colluded with Mr. Chadwick in

     misrepresenting or withholding facts from his Employment Application Form, thereby engaging in 
     the falsification of an important local government document, being in breach of the Western 
     Australian State Records Act, 2000. Such an action would provide just cause for the dismissal of that officer.

Since 2011, several, known, employment related incidents have occurred involving Mr. Chadwick.

1. Mr. Chadwick was officially sanctioned by the Shire of York for engaging in the racial vilification of a  
    work colleague, during working hours, who then resigned over the incident. This in itself is grounds                  for dismissal, but the option was not pursued by the Shire, even though substantial compensation was
    paid, by the Shire, to the victim,

2. In a similar workplace incident, Mr. Chadwick was suspended for three weeks for bullying a co-
    worker.  This is another activity that could give rise to the termination of employment,

3. There is video evidence of Mr. Chadwick throwing a significant volume of newspaper from a public 
    footpath on to a private residential property in contravention of his employment obligations to the 
    Shire of York, and of the Western Australian Litter Act, 1979,
  
In the community interest there have been allegations of anti-social and possible criminal behavior regarding Mr. Chadwick’s propensity towards violent domestic actions against his partner over recent times.

It would appear that Mr. Christian Tarou Chadwick has been summoned to appear in the Northam Magistrates Court in November, 2015. This may well be on matters concerning aggressive anti-social behaviour.

Therefore, in the past, the Shire of York Administration may have been derelict in its professional duty-of-care to the York community through its actions in employing Christian Tarou Chadwick.

Basically, as the new council you are now aware of the alleged failure of the Shire of York Administration to undertake proper employment application procedures in the case of the hiring of a convicted, violent criminal (and previously an adjudged recidivist thief.) 

Also that the Shire of York may bear some legal and moral responsibility for any violent actions by Mr. Chadwick within his workplace or within the York community, should this occur in the future.

Yours sincerely

David Taylor -Shire of York Ratepayer.

THE ABOVE email dated December 4, 2014, from the then Acting Chief Executive Officer, Graeme Simpson, confirms that the Shire (definitively meaning the Shire of York Administration and its senior officers) was well aware of Mr. Christian Chadwick’s violent past, including his three-year jail sentence, when his appointment was made.

Unfortunately for these senior officers concerned they may now need to explain to the State Records Office of Western Australia, and the York community, why a Mr. Christian Chadwick was employed by the Shire of York Administration as a Mr. Christian Tarou.

Then, why it does not constitute a deliberate falsification of records of employment, being Local Government State records, which can be an offence under the State Records Act 2000, the Corruption & Crime Commission Act, 2003 and the Criminal Code Act, 1913. The gravamen of such offences as the ‘perversion of the truth’ on such a document is for what reason(s) it was contemplated and then undertaken. These reasons will probably be very hard to explain.

Mr. Christian Chadwick was known to the shearing community in and around York and his direct superior, the then Engineering and Works Manager, was not the arbiter of the Shire of York  Administration’s selection process for Christian Tarou.
 
In December 2014, the Australian Government imposed a new policy under which non-citizens can be deported if they have served more than one-year in jail, no matter how long they have lived in Australia.

Mr. Chadwick is a New Zealand national who has served a three-year jail term in an Australian prison. He also has a record of anti-social, legally unacceptable behaviour within the Shire of York’s Engineering and Works Department that has been purposely withheld from public scrutiny.

It is mooted by Australian immigration authorities that up to 1,000 New Zealand nationals will be deported to their home country in the foreseeable future- should that be justified by the offences they have committed in Australia.

Mr. Chadwick faces the Northam Magistrates Court this month. Depending on the severity of the offence and any criminal conviction recorded, he could be a prime candidate for deportation if he is not already.

As of October 25, 2015, the New Zealand Government agreed to accept and place under a supervision regime, any of its nationals who have spent more than one year in jail for an offence that would be considered to require a custodial sentence under New Zealand laws. Mr. Chadwick also fits that description.

Should Mr. Chadwick be threatened with deportation, the Department of Immigration and Border Security may well question the Shire of York Administration regarding his actions, including racial abuse, harassment and threatening behaviour towards fellow employees. This could give rise to the Fairwork Ombudsman and Safework Australia becoming involved.

David Taylor
York Ratepayer.

Man jailed for attack on radar operator

JOE STOLLEY

October 9, 2009, 1:07 pm

A man who threw a 53-year-old multanova operator into the street and rammed two police cars in a chase was jailed for three years in the Perth District Court today.New Zealand national Christian Tarou Chadwick pleaded guilty to 14 offences all stemming from a one-hour rampage that started after he attempted to take his life on April 27 this year when his partner told him that she wanted him to leave the house.The offences included threat to kill, two counts of assault, five counts of assaults preventing arrest, obstructing a police officer as well as drug and driving offences."Your conduct was spectacularly dangerous. It could have caused serious injury," Judge Robert Mazza said.He said Chadwick's desire to end his own life did not justify his endangering the lives of others.The court heard that after Chadwick's partner and mother of his four children asked him to leave, he consumed hard liquor and cannabis before attempting to gas himself.After that he attempted to take his life by cutting his wrists.He jumped into his car and drove at speeds of 130kmh along Albany Highway before attempting to force another motorist off the road.When the motorist pulled over, the court heard that Chadwick threatened to kill him if he called the police.In Bedfordale he accosted a multanova operator believing she had taken a photo of his vehicle.He grabbed her by the arm and threw her into Albany Highway."If there had been another car she would have been run over. It could have been disastrous," Judge Mazza said.Police were alerted and gave chase.It was during the chase that he rammed the two police cars.When the officers stopped him he was tasered three times before being arrested.Chadwick's sentence was backdated to April 27 and he will be eligible for parole after serving 18 months.He was disqualified for holding a licence for six months and had his extraordinary licence revoked. He was fined $2800.

Shire of York Annual Report 2010 - 2011 showing the name Christian Tarou

Shire of York Annual Report 2011 - 2012 showing the name Christian Chadwick