THE personal details of a Maribyrnong resident have been handed over to a councillor against whom a complaint was launched.
The Weekly can reveal that the privacy breach by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) resulted in the complainant’s name, address and phone number, along with the details of the complaint, being emailed to Maribyrnong mayor John Cumming.
Cr Cumming has questioned the timing of the complaint and blames political rivals for the release of a written apology during the council election campaign.
The complaint related to campaign material distributed by Cr Cumming that advertised council services, included contact details and official photos and failed to include an authorisation statement.
VEC acting electoral commissioner Liz Williams wrote to the resident to apologise for the “administrative error”. “I sincerely apologise for this incident,” she wrote. “The VEC has immediately reviewed and changed its procedures and implemented training to prevent such an error occurring in future.”
After realising its error, the VEC recalled the email and requested any copies be destroyed and the information not be used.
The resident was advised that they may wish to take the matter up with the Victorian Privacy Commissioner.
Cr Cumming said if the resident had a legitimate concern about the privacy breach they would have raised it when the blunder first came to light last month. “I think people are being precious. If you want the ability to complain I don’t see why you can’t stand behind the complaint.” He said he believed the campaign newsletter was legitimate as it was distributed prior to the election period.
VEC communication manager Sue Lang said the incident highlighted a “process issue, which has since been rectified”.
