Josh Gilligan has been suspended from Wyndham council for one month and forced to apologise for a Facebook outburst in which he called a former colleague a “raging lunatic.”
An independent arbiter’s ruling, tabled at the Tuesday 24 February council meeting, found that a Facebook post made by Mr Gilligan on 18 September, 2025 – directed at former mayor Kim McAliney – constituted misconduct.
In response to a Star Weekly article in which Ms McAliney called on Local Government Minister Nick Staikos to install a municipal monitor at Wyndham, Mr Gilligan wrote:
“The raging lunatic recently proclaimed she won’t pay her council rates (which is illegal) sprouting anti-government propaganda you usually see from the sovereign citizen movement.”
Mr Gilligan also said he believed Ms McAliney resigned from council in 2020 “because of the shame she brought up on herself,” and that he intended to raise a notice of motion at the October council meeting to release confidential minutes to “reveal one of the suspected contributory factors.”
Cr Robert Szatkowski brought about the internal arbitration process against Mr Gilligan, alleging that the post breached the behaviour and integrity aspects of the councillor code of conduct.
Arbiter Simon Heath said he accepted that the post had caused Ms McAliney considerable distress and that being linked to the sovereign citizen movement was upsetting.
He mentioned that she is the widow of a deceased police officer and the post was just three weeks after a claimed member of that movement had allegedly killed two police officers and seriously injured a third.
Mr Gilligan claimed the post was justifiable in the context of Ms McAliney being a “political activist” with “factional alignments” who had shown “obsessive behaviour” toward him.
He also claimed she belonged to a group of people who had attacked him personally and reputationally for several years.
Mr Heath did not accept this and also threw out Mr Gilligan’s claim that his post was personal opinion and not made on behalf of council.
It was also concluded that no evidence was provided to indicate that Ms McAliney resignation was for inappropriate reasons.
He ruled that referring to Ms McAliney as a “raging lunatic” was belittling, demeaning, abusive and insulting, and the sovereign citizen remark was a failure to treat her with dignity, fairness, objectivity, courtesy and respect.
Mr Gilligan, who was mayor prior to being suspended, was directed to publish a written apology within 72 hours of the ruling being tabled and did so on Facebook on the same evening.
It must remain there for at least 30 days.
In a separate statement, he said he accepts the decision, but referred to an arbitration determination made by Dr Lily O’Neill in 2022, in which he avoided sanction partly on the basis of “a very significant history of attack”’ made by an unnamed resident toward him.
“I will respect and abide by the decision,” Mr Gilligan said in a statement.
“It’s important for me to provide the context which isn’t reflected in the decision, noting I have no right by law to seek a review of the merits of the decision.
“Over the last five years, I’ve been subjected to behaviours that are unacceptable in any modern workplace.
“These are not behaviours that should be accepted as something that councillors should tolerate as part of their role.
“The growing demands and constraints on councillors are making the role extraordinarily difficult to perform anymore.”
Preet Singh has been appointed acting mayor until council votes for a new mayor, which must take place within the 30-day period.
