Former ACT Liberals leader Alistair Coe has been rapped over the knuckles for using public resources to print more than 8000 political pamphlets ahead of October's territory election.
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A report into the matter by Commissioner for Standards Ken Crispin QC, initiated by a complaint from Speaker Joy Burch, was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
Ultimately the commissioner found that it could not be proven that Mr Coe knowingly used Legislative Assembly resources for political purposes, and that it could have been a simple oversight.
However, Dr Crispin found Mr Coe had breached two provisions of the Code of Conduct for members of the Legislative Assembly, that he failed to act with diligence and transparency in relation to the issue.
The report describes how Mr Coe dragged his feet in responding to the inquiry by Dr Crispin, for which he ultimately apologised and said was caused by the extreme stress leading up to the election and disappointment following it.
Dr Crispin noted that following several attempts, only two of Mr Coe's former staff replied to emails and none returned his calls.
The Legislative Assembly's standing committee on administration and procedure received Dr Crispin's report and has recommended that Mr Coe apologise in writing to the Assembly.
Mr Coe has repaid the full amount for the printing, believed to be more than $500.
Legislative Assembly staff monitor the printing and copying carried out in MLA offices monthly but increase this monitoring in the lead up to elections and report any discrepancies to the Speaker.
Ms Burch was notified on October 7, 10 days before the election, that printing in Mr Coe's office had dramatically increased. Across just four business days in early October printing in Mr Coe's office had increased by 8674 prints, 8600 of which were in full colour.
Ms Burch wrote to Mr Coe twice seeking an explanation and received none, prompting her to lodge a complaint with the Commissioner.
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During the investigation Mr Coe emailed Dr Crispin and took full responsibility for the printing, informed him it had likely been suburb specific campaign material and assured that at no point had he authorised the misuse of any public resources.
Mr Coe said his office also contained a private, self-funded printer which he used for personal and political materials and he suggested he likely sent the printing to the wrong device by mistake.
In the correspondence, Mr Coe highlighted his struggles with mental health around the election and said this was contributing to the delays in responding to the investigation.
"Much of the campaign remains a haze," Mr Coe wrote in November.
"I've struggled before and after the election with my mental health which will be the cause of my resignation from the Assembly.
"I also understand that numerous former members of my staff who are now unemployed are also doing it tough."
On Tuesday Mr Coe said that with further reflection he no longer attributed his departure from politics to his mental health.
"With the passage of time, I'm in a much better headspace," Mr Coe said.
"I've been able to consider a lot of other factors and I know that now is the right time for my family and me to start a new chapter.
"In many ways, 2020 and the aftermath was a difficult year. I accept the findings of the report and I'm grateful for the patience of all concerned."
The report noted that had the public resources been used consciously or deliberately it would have amounted to corrupt conduct under the Integrity Commission Act.
However, Dr Crispin found that the possibility of a simple error could not be discounted and also that he believed Mr Coe to have answered his questions honestly.
"Whilst I am satisfied that he misused public resources, I am not satisfied that he did so intentionally," Dr Crispin said.
He said Mr Coe's failure to respond to Ms Burch's enquiries constituted a breach of both the diligence and transparency provisions.
