Council abuses residents’ privacy

By Michael Gormly

Council published on its website the flat numbers and street addresses of 23 people who commented on the Sugarmill Hotel’s application to continue its existing opening hours. This contravenes the City’s Guide to making submissions, which states:

“Public access to your personal details is constrained by Privacy and Freedom of Information laws. Council will not disseminate your personal information without your consent, however, Council may categorise your submission information under identifiers such as “local resident” or “CBD business”.”

At the same time, Council published a confidential Police report on the application which stated: “The evaluation/report is a confidential document and is for use by the person/organization referred to on page one.”