GAWLER Council has been in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons this week after a flow chart detailing its internal processes for handling media enquiries was made public.

Last Tuesday, council’s marketing and communications co-ordinator Donna Johnston, with the approval of chief executive Henry Inat, circulated an email to a number of South Australian news organisations, including The Bunyip, which featured a flow chart explaining the step-by-step process council uses to respond to media enquiries.

The flow chart was posted on social media by an Advertiser journalist, where it attracted the ire of many reporters – both locally and interstate – who criticised the council for its overly  bureaucratic procedure.

In her email, Ms Johnston also stated journalists should send questions to her by “email only”, and that they should refrain from contacting anyone else at the council, including mayor Karen Redman, as it would “cause disruption and inevitable delays in getting comments back…in a timely fashion”.

Speaking with The Bunyip on Monday, Ms Redman said she was unaware the email had been circulated to the media, and added the council had since begun a review of its protocol following the backlash.

“When these things happen, you have to regroup and you have to talk about, as a team, whether your processes are the best ones,” she said.

“We’re certainly doing that.

“I think it’s clear that even though it wasn’t intended, there was an impression that I couldn’t talk to the media; that’s clearly not the case.

“My view is that all these things you can always learn from, and you get stronger as a result.

“I don’t think anyone disagrees there has to be a process, but there’s always been easy access to myself as mayor and also the CEO, and that will continue.”