Wagga councillor Rod Kendall suspended over controversial vote on Plymouth Brethren Church DA at Lake Albert

Councillor Rod Kendall received a month-long suspension this week after the Office of Local Government (OLG) found he had breached the council's code of conduct over a proposed church meeting hall in Lake Albert.

On Tuesday, OLG deputy secretary Brett Whitworth found he failed to declare he had a working relationship with the applicant, Carl Napier, before moving and voting on a motion to approve the development.

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In March 2022, Wagga councillors approved an application by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church for a $250,000 meeting hall at 53 Gregadoo Road, despite more than 20 objections from nearby residents.

The motion was rescinded after Cr Kendall revealed he had a conflict of interest because the applicant, a trustee for the Plymouth Brethren Church, worked for Adaptive Interiors, which had previously employed Cr Kendall as a structural engineer.

After a repeat of the vote, the development was again approved by councillors.

At the time, Cr Kendall claimed he overlooked the name of the applicant and that the breach was simply a mistake. However, Mr Napier told The Daily Advertiser Cr Kendall was definitely aware he was the applicant.

On Tuesday, an OLG spokesperson said the councillor "failed to declare a significant non-pecuniary interest in a matter considered by Wagga council in February 2022".

"He is to be counselled and has been suspended from civic office for one month from September 16 until October 16," the spokesperson said.

Cr Kendall said he accepted full responsibility for his actions.

The former mayor reported himself last year after he realised he had breached the code.

"I should have been more diligent, more aware of the the conflict of interest," Cr Kendall said on Tuesday.

"I don't believe the sanction is inappropriate and I'm mainly disappointed in myself for a lack of diligence which led to that."

Cr Kendall said the month-long ban was a fair punishment and said it shows the council's code of conduct does have teeth.

"It's important that when you adopt a code of conduct that [breaching] it has real repercussions," he said.

Cr Kendall also expressed concern at how long it took the OLG to consider what he termed a "reasonably straightforward" issue.

"It was self-reported and not contested," he said.

"I'd like to think that with issues like this ... a much shorter time period should be achievable to reach a resolution on the matter."

Wagga City Council declined to comment on the suspension.

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