An arbiter appointed to resolve matters between two Wyndham councillors has implored council to consider the expense to ratepayers before submitting any more arbitration applications.
While council would not disclose the amount spent during the internal arbitration process between councillors Sahana Ramesh and Josh Gilligan, arbiter Lily O’Neill said arbitrations were a “very expensive“ way to resolve minor matters.
“I believe that these are not matters that should have reached the point of requiring arbitration,“ Dr O’Neill wrote in a reasons for decision document tabled at last week’s council meeting.
The first application made by Cr Ramesh alleged breaches of the treatment of others contained in the Local Government (Governance and Integrity) regulations 2020, in relation to an email from Cr Gilligan to an unnamed resident, in which he wrote: “you willingly participated in a criminal court matter to provide a personal character reference for a Centrelink rorter“.
The regulations state a councillor must treat other councillors, council officers, the municipal community and members of the public with dignity, fairness, objectivity, courtesy and respect.
Dr O’Neill said Cr Gilligan argued the comments were ‘statements of fact’.
Dr O’Neill said she was provided numerous documents with proof the unnamed resident referred to Cr Gilligan as ‘immature, rude, childish’, misused his image, and amended the theme song to the TV show Gilligan’s Island so the lyrics referenced Cr Gilligan in a derogatory way.
Dr O’Neill said the resident also accepted that the contents of the email were true.
Dr O’Neill found Cr Gilligan’s email did breach regulations, however, he would not be sanctions as the ’very significant history of attacks’ made by the unnamed resident gave relevant content to his email.
“If this behaviour continued towards residents into the future, a sanction would be appropriate,” Dr O’Neill said.
The second application stated centred around an email to Cr Ramesh, other councillors and council staff, in which Cr Gilligan wrote: “I won’t be lectured by someone who engaged in a coup for her personal gain and divided a council right after she was accidentally elected at the top of the ballot in the ward”.
The coup mentioned was in relation to a council meeting in December 2020, in which Cr Ramesh and others voted to overturn a recommendation to appoint Cr Gilligan as the Municipal Association of Victoria delegate.
Dr O’Neill said Cr Ramesh stated the majority of council agreed the role of the MAV should be considered by councillors and not on the basis of incumbency.
Dr O’Neill said Cr Gilligan did not breach any of the relevant standards of conduct, however she noted he “skirts the boundaries of good manners” in his email correspondence.
