A COUNCILLOR’S claim that three opponents campaigned improperly at the last election has shattered any illusion of a harmonious Great Lakes Council.
The accusations, by Cr Mike Tuffy, could technically lead to the dismissal of Labor-endorsed councillors Leigh Vaughan and John Weate, and independent Linda Gill.
Cr Tuffy took the matter to the Administrative Decision Tribunal, which will hear the case from April 27.
A press release from Cr Tuffy and endorsed by fellow councillor Len Roberts said ‘some of the complaints relate to unauthorised posters, use of council logo on candidate websites, advertising claiming endorsed party affiliation when [none] existed’.
The ‘unauthorised poster’ allegation is understood to be against Cr Gill, as is ‘advertising claiming endorsed party affiliation’.
Cr Gill is a former Greens member who successfully ran as an independent at the September 2008 council election. A party website allegedly featured her name and details during the campaign.
“In regard to the issues raised against myself, they will be proved baseless,” Cr Gill said.
“I will have plenty to say when the court makes its decision in April, but as it’s before the court at present I will make no comment.”
The accusations of falsely claiming party affiliation mirror those made against Cr Roberts in the lead-up to his 2003 dismissal from the council. After the councillor’s election in 2000, some candidates applied to the tribunal to have him dismissed after irregularities surrounding an election poster with the Nationals’ logo. The party had not endorsed Cr Roberts as a candidate.
The ‘use of Council logo on candidate websites’ is understood to be an allegation against Crs Weate and Vaughan, who both declined to comment. It is believed the claims will be denied.
NSW Electoral Commission spokesperson Adrian Kerr said the commission would not pre-empt the tribunal’s decision by commenting on the councillors’ use of logos. This is not the first time the councillor has brought a complaint before the tribunal. In 2004 he acted on what he saw as a derogatory message painted on the side of a car at a council polling booth.
The councillor claimed then-mayor John Chadban and current mayor Jan McWilliams benefited at the ballot box when voters turned their backs on him after seeing the banner.
The tribunal dismissed the application, ruling, “In this election, Mr Chadban and Mrs McWilliams were comfortably elected…This is not a case where each won by a small margin”.
After a fractious term in which councillors split into factions, Mr Chadban retired before the last election calling for a ceasefire. Cr Gill expressed grave misgivings over councillors’ ability to work together in the wake of Cr Tuffy’s latest claims.
The Local Government Act guarantees that ‘any person may apply to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal for an order that a person be dismissed from civic office’.
A tribunal spokesperson said the case is listed for hearing at Taree Courthouse from April 27.
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