Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk said the council had not changed the way it operated in many years but did not immediately reject opposition councillors' claims that employees had been directed to withhold information.

On Tuesday, opposition leader Peter Cumming asked a question of the lord mayor during question time in the council chamber and said there had been several recent examples where the chairman of council committees directed employees to withhold information from councillors about their wards.

“This is in direct contravention of the City of Brisbane Act,” he said.

“Will you give a commitment today to lift this deceitful blanket of secrecy?”

Cr Quirk did not immediately reject the claims when answering Cr Cumming’s question in the chamber but said there had been no legislative changes for decades.

"Requests are made of divisional managers ... there has to be relationships between the divisional managers and the chairman of committees; in the same way, there has to be relationships between ministers and their department heads," he said.

“They [the chairmen] have to come in here every Tuesday and be answerable through a question process in very much the same way ministers are required to answer and respond on behalf of their department,” he said.

“The law does not give them the same power as ministers.

“The way it has operated here for many many years through multiple lord mayors is that because of the chair’s special responsibility that they operate within that arrangement.”

State ministers may direct directors-general in relation to administering their portfolios and may direct a department to act in a manner that is contrary to its advice.

Queensland Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said he had directed his department to investigate the matter and provide him with urgent advice.

“Brisbane ratepayers and residents are best served by councillors who are properly informed, especially about matters in their own ward,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“This is not the first time such concerns have been raised with me.

“I've asked my department to investigate this matter and provide me with urgent advice.”

A spokesman for the lord mayor later said, following questions from Fairfax Media, that any suggestion the City of Brisbane Act had been breached were firmly rejected.

“The lord mayor was clear that the City of Brisbane Act has been effective for the governance of both Labor and LNP administrations and that there was no need to change the act,” the spokesman said.

“He also made clear that the chairmen of committees are responsible and accountable for the decisions of their departments, this in no way implies any breaches of the City of Brisbane Act.”

Opposition councillor Steve Griffiths moved an urgency motion following the lord mayor’s response in the chamber.

That the lord mayor and committee chairs comply with section 170 and 171 of the City of Brisbane Act as follows:

“This is urgent because this is serious,” Cr Griffiths said.

“It’s even more serious in light of what the lord mayor has just said – that it’s ok to withhold information and that it’s ok for us to operate in a way that doesn’t provide information to the residents of Brisbane or the councillors that represent them.

“In recent months, opposition councillors have experienced, and we have documented on a number of occasions, an increasing number of incidents where information is withheld or where staff have told us they have been directed not to provide us with information.

“This practice is not right. It’s not democratic. It’s a blatant breach of the City of Brisbane Act and we believe it is illegal.”

The spokesman for the lord mayor said opposition failed to substantiate their claims with any evidence.

“This is exactly what we have come to expect from this opposition, which is more concerned with politicking than delivering for the people of Brisbane,” the spokesman said.

The urgency motion was not upheld with seven councillors voting in favour, and all 20 LNP councillors voting against.

Fairfax Media sighted several letters sent from councillors to the council’s chief-executive Colin Jensen between June 22 and July 31 that documented concerns that the City of Brisbane Act being breached.

The letters were also sent to Mr Hinchliffe.

Cr Steve Griffiths (Labor) said in his letter to Mr Jensen on June 22 that a council officer told him they had been instructed not to give him a briefing about a community project that residents had raised concern about.

Cr Jared Cassidy (Labor) wrote to Mr Jensen on July 24 to seek advice regarding requests he had sent to council employees for information.

“I have been concerned by the increasing tendency for council officers to tell me and my ward office staff that they cannot provide advice in writing and will only do so verbally. They have advised this is at the direction of the relevant chairperson’s office,” his letter said.

“Can you advise if it is permissible under the act for a chairperson of a standing committee to give a direction to council employees that they cannot provide written advice to councillors about matters in their own ward?

“For your information, this has been occurring with staff from both City Planning and Field Services.”

Cr Kara Cook (Labor) wrote to Mr Jensen on Tuesday to express her concerns about the act being breached and said she was deeply concerned council staff had not given her information relevant to her ward and/or may have been directed to not inform her.

S.170 - Giving directions to council staff

S.171 -

Requests for assistance or information