The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CCC) has handed down a damning report into Ipswich City Council alleging a culture of corruption and finding an improper use of power and inappropriate relationships.

The report Culture and Corruption Risks in Local Government shows the reasons why the State Government has taken the dramatic action to sack the entire council.

Report findings Council employees had attempted to bring concerns about corrupt conduct to the attention of a senior executive employee, however, these were either not addressed or dismissed out of hand

Council employees had attempted to bring concerns about corrupt conduct to the attention of a senior executive employee, however, these were either not addressed or dismissed out of hand A senior executive employee appeared to be selective in deciding which matters to report to the CCC, despite a statutory obligation to report suspected corrupt conduct to the CCC

A senior executive employee appeared to be selective in deciding which matters to report to the CCC, despite a statutory obligation to report suspected corrupt conduct to the CCC Middle-level management largely overlooked breaches of policies and procedures by senior executive employees and councillors

Middle-level management largely overlooked breaches of policies and procedures by senior executive employees and councillors Council staff were often expected to overlook or cover up breaches of policy and procedure, including by altering records or filling in reports regarding approval for overseas travel

New laws to allow an administrator to be appointed are expected to be passed through State Parliament next week.

The CCC investigations into Ipswich has now resulted in 15 people charged with 86 offences, including two former mayors.

The inquiry called Operation Windage found a tainted council that lacked oversight and accountability.

It has found the council had allegedly corrupt associations with property developers and contractors, and that council employees received gifts and benefits in exchange for facilitating development applications and favourable outcomes in tender processes.

It also found several members of council regularly misused their power to obtain personal benefits including money and had no "fraud risk register" despite an internal auditor recommending it.

The report handed down by CCC chairman Alan MacSporran also identified other contributing factors: "such as the influence of a very dominating senior figure [and] a small group of people who had worked together for a number of years" who had weak and ambiguous policies.

He maintains the council also had little regard for the internal audit function and were guilty of "widespread breaches of policy and procedure".

He found there was an abusive attitude towards council officers, which resulted in an inability or unwillingness to challenge or report inappropriate conduct and a fear of reprisal that discouraged reporting.

"Staff were discouraged by the culture within the council — it engendered a general apathy, with staff feeling that there was no point in reporting what they knew or suspected," the report states.

"Further, it was identified that there was no way for employees to raise their concerns as they feared that these would not be kept confidential.

"Enquiries uncovered allegations of councillors harassing staff and making threats against them to ruin their career.

"In particular, several staff were fearful that it would be discovered that they had made a complaint and they would lose their jobs as a result."

The findings looked at individual case studies where there was an "inability or unwillingness" to challenge inappropriate conduct.

"They knew that challenges to authority would not be tolerated; some employees who raised concerns had their hours reduced so significantly that they ended up leaving the council."

Long-serving councillor Paul Tully denied there was a widespread culture of bullying and corruption within the council.

"There's no way in the world that senior officers or councillors could have been aware what people were doing," he said.

He said the council had adopted 19 new policies to address issues with the culture.

Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the report made for "absolutely shocking reading".

"Suspected official corruption, improper use of power and influence for personal benefit and a lack of accountability for public resources - these are extremely disturbing findings," he said.

"I will carefully consider this report and its recommendations and continue to progress our Local Government reforms, which aim to make all Queensland councils more accountable while supporting the vast majority of Councillors who are doing the right thing by their communities."

Private emails a 'security and corruption risk'

The CCC also found the widespread use of private emails was a "security and corruption risk".

"It was identified that councillors and senior executive employees were using private email accounts specifically to avoid RTI [Right To Information] requests from journalists as a way of concealing unfavourable decisions or records of information from the public," the report said.

It also identified one councillor had provided his personal email address to journalists and other private organisations to discuss council meetings and receive requests for council funding to keep emails "off the system" to "circumvent scrutiny".

The report also makes widespread recommendations to all councils across the state based on the corruption risks at Ipswich.

It urges better financial literacy and training for councillors about compliance and their responsibilities under the act.

It also calls for a ban on the use of private email accounts for the purpose of conducting official business.

Council employees, including two mayors, face 86 charges

Of the 15 people charged, seven are either current or former council employees or councillors.

This includes two mayors, two chief executives and a chief operating officer.

All of the criminal matters are currently before the courts.

These include charges of fraud against Ipswich Mayor Andrew Antonelli, who took over from Paul Pisasale when he resigned from council due to ill health.

Mr Pisasale has now been slapped with 23 charges by the CCC including extortion and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

They include eight fresh fraud charges laid on Monday, including allegations he received gifts of household goods, including cookware, a barbecue, a replica truck and whiskey.

The 66-year-old also stands accused of "corruptly agreeing to champion" a project at Yamanto in Ipswich's west proposed by Melbourne developer Chris Pinzone.

His former barrister friend Sam Di Carlo, who has also been previously charged by the CCC, was also hit with an extra charge of official corruption.

Mr MacSporran said the CCC had been investigating alleged corruption in Ipswich since October 2016.

This final public report appears to be the nail in the coffin for the council, which has tried to defend its actions to ratepayers and even took Supreme Court action in a bid to dispute a show cause notice why councillors should not be sacked.

Acting mayor Wayne Wendt described the process as a kangaroo court.

Cr Tully said the report did not justify the sacking of councillors.

"This report … it is very poor, there is no new information in here. There is no smoking gun" he said.

But it appears their fate is sealed.

An administrator is likely to remain in control of the council until the next local government election in 2020.

