The Tribunal affirmed the Code of Conduct Investigating Panel's determination that the applicant councillor had breached the code of conduct, dismissing all three grounds of review. Review under s 28ZP of the Local Government Act 1993 is confined to failures to comply with natural justice; alleged errors of fact or law (such as misquotation of words used or incorrect admission of evidence) do not engage the review jurisdiction unless they amount to a denial of procedural fairness. The gender composition of an investigating panel, without more, does not give rise to apprehended bias under the Ebner two-step test; the applicant must articulate a logical connection between the identified characteristic and a feared deviation from impartial decision-making. Evidence obtained in alleged contravention of the Listening Devices Act 1991 is not automatically inadmissible; the balancing exercise in Kadir v The Queen applies, and in any event the panel was not bound by the rules of evidence under s 28ZE of the LG Act.
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