A mentions hearing for the case against the former CEO of Central Goldfields Shire Mark Johnston took place in the Maryborough Magistrates Court on Thursday.
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Johnston was not present in court, and neither his solicitor nor the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, who are conducting the prosecution, appeared at the hearing. The matter was adjourned until October 26.
Fairfax Media obtained the charges pressed against Mark Johnston by the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate. The charges are that Johnston allegedly:
- Exercised a delegated power or delegated duty without disclosing a conflict of interest. (two charges)
- Obtained a financial advantage by deception, making his employer pay his tax liability on his superannuation without authorisation. (14 charges)
- Obtained a financial advantage by deception, using a credit card issued to him by his employer for an unauthorised transaction. (20 charges)
- Dishonestly causing a loss by furnishing information to the shire he knew to be false. (Five charges)
The financial cost of the charges against Johnston totals $38,837.65, ranging from just $7 for one of the credit card misuses to $9277.09 for one of the tax liability payments.
The charges range from 2003 until the present and have been brought under the Crimes Act 1958, apart from the two conflict of interest charges which have been brought under the Local Government Act 1989.
Johnston has previously said he will vigorously defend the charges brought against him by the LGICI and has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
A number of Maryborough residents and ratepayers present in court were disappointed that Mr Johnston and his legal team did not appear.
The elected council of the Central Goldfields Shire was dismissed by local government minister Natalie Hutchins a fortnight ago, replacing them with interim administrator Mark Davies, following a damning report by LGICI detailing mismanagement and maladministration over decades.
An administrator will oversee the council until 2020, and a new CEO for the disadvantaged shire is being sought. Mark Johnston was appointed as CEO of the newly-formed Central Goldfields Shire by the Kennett government-installed commissioners in 1995.
