A council officer's honest expression of opinion about the likely outcome of a development application is not misleading or deceptive merely because it fails to advert to risks that were not in truth likely impediments to approval at the relevant time. Silence is not a misrepresentation; its significance depends on the context in which it occurs. However, where a council owes a duty of care in providing information, an opinion expressed without reasonable basis — particularly where the council has disregarded statutory obligations to consider relevant risks — may constitute a breach of that duty (per Fitzgerald JA, dissenting).
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