The Pink Ladies went to the ICAC and didn’t return to work. Ratepayers are still footing their salaries

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Parramatta ratepayers are still paying the salaries of two executives interrogated by the ICAC over their alleged corrupt conduct at the council, despite one saying she “admitted to everything” and evidence showing the other texted about plans to bring down “dickhead” council staff.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption held a lengthy public inquiry across May and June that revealed staggering details about the alleged conduct of the council’s former chief executive Gail Connolly – including that she had misused public money, spied on a councillor and subverted recruitment practices – and her two friends, Roxanne Thornton and Angela Jones-Blayney, who were hired at the council after she arrived.

The group was known, along with others, as the Pink Ladies.

Roxanne Thornton and Angela Jones-Blayney each spent days in the ICAC witness box. They haven’t returned to work, but are still being paid.Sam Mooy/Sitthixay Ditthavong

During the inquiry, Thornton agreed she’d made a “charade” of recruitment practices by hiring her friends and said she knew her subversion of proper recruitment processes was misconduct. Jones-Blayney’s texts shown at the commission show she plotted to “stack” the council staff with the group’s friends by replacing the “dickhead” senior staff.

Connolly, the investigation’s primary target, was sacked by councillors in October last year with a 38-week payout, in excess of $350,000. Despite not having appeared at work since the inquiry was announced, Thornton, who began at the council on a base salary of $228,210, and Jones-Blayney, on a contract worth $360,000 a year, are maintaining regular paychecks after being placed on “special leave”.

Data released by the council in response to questions asked by independent councillor Kellie Darley reveals the organisation has spent $234,080 of ratepayer money over the past two months paying “special leave” to 11 staff – at least eight of whom, including the pair, were witnesses at the inquiry and not in attendance for its duration.

In a statement, Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter said: “As the ICAC public inquiry is still in progress, the community can be assured that Council is managing the situation in accordance with its legal obligations and will continue to co-operate with the process.

“In saying that, ratepayers can be assured that we are exploring every possible legal option to take the necessary action against individuals where wrongdoing is established.”

The council said special leave was granted for reasons “not limited to investigations, including family and domestic violence, emergency volunteering, compassionate circumstances, and Defence Force duties”.

But Darley, who the inquiry revealed was the subject of electronic surveillance efforts by Connolly, is pushing for an end to the leave process.

“Residents are rightly angry that their rates are continuing to fund the salaries of council staff who have admitted wrongdoing or whose misconduct has been exposed during the ICAC inquiry,” Darley said. “The reality is that every dollar spent dealing with the fallout from this scandal is a dollar that can’t be spent improving our parks, roads, libraries and other community services.”

The inquiry has been adjourned since the end of June, when Chief Commissioner John Hatzistergos said it may be necessary to call back witnesses for further evidence following the conclusion of the agency’s public inquiry into the University of Wollongong.

However, the ICAC’s blockbuster inquiry, Operation Rosny, is due to begin on Monday, leaving no time for further public hearings in the Parramatta case for at least eight weeks, causing further strain on the council’s payments.

Thornton and Jones-Blayney were contacted for comment.

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Anthony Segaert is the Parramatta bureau chief at The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously an urban affairs reporter.Connect via X or email.