Wyndham councillor Intaj Khan has been suspended from council duties for a month following an online stoush with residents earlier this year.
The council last week voted to ban Cr Khan from representing the council, including at council meetings, for four weeks following comments he made via Facebook and the media in June.
He has also been ordered to make a public apology for his conduct at the next ordinary council meeting he attends as a councillor.
In June, Cr Khan took to the Wyndham Residents United Facebook group and attacked his own council, claiming it was delaying a state government plan to build an Indian Cultural Precinct in Wyndham and had “sneakily changed” the name of the project to the South Asian Cultural Precinct.
When residents pointed out that the money for the precinct’s feasibility study had only been allocated late last year, Cr Khan threatened to sue one resident and accused another of being part of a “fake news group”.
He told Star Weekly at the time that he would sue any residents for “writing inappropriate, wrong information”.
“These people are going crazy on me and I’m not going to take any shit any more,” he said.
In a statement released last week, mayor Henry Barlow said complaints about Cr Khan’s conduct prompted Wyndham council to appoint an independent arbiter to investigate the issue. Cr Khan was found to have breached two sections of the councillor code of conduct relating to councillor conduct principles and communication protocols. The maximum penalty for these offences is a two-month suspension.
“As elected representatives, we have specific duties to fulfil and any breaches of the Wyndham councillor code of conduct must be treated seriously,”
Cr Barlow said.
In a statement, Cr Khan said he had not intended to breach the councillor code of conduct.
“I am aware of the council’s resolution and I propose to abide by it,” the statement read.
“I now look forward to returning to my role and responsibilities as a councillor for the people of Wyndham and to serve to the best of my ability when I return to my duties in four weeks.”
The suspension comes the same week that the Australian Skills Quality Authority announced it was cancelling the registration of the Western Institute of Technology, of which Cr Khan is the director.
Cr Khan said he would be seeking to appeal the decision, which is due to take effect from October 12.
This week, Cr Khan will front Werribee Magistrate’s Court for an initial hearing to answer charges of failing to disclose all his business and property interests in his register of interest returns.
One of the nine charges, which relates to failing to disclose property holdings, has been dropped.
