by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A ratepayers association has called on the State Government to ban Casey’s ‘class of 2016’ councillors from standing in the 2024 elections.
Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association has written to Local Government Minister Melissa Horne, arguing that the ban should apply to the councillors sacked by the Government in 2020 as well as the two who resigned the night before.
The association questioned what councillors knew about what was going on at the council, as later outlined in the IBAC report.
It said if councillors saw “appalling behaviour”, they should have reported it.
“The fact that two councillors evaded being sacked by resigning the night before the announcement of the terminations should not matter…”
The association is seeking clarity on who will be allowed to stand at the local government elections.
“This matter must be finalised as soon as possible as potential candidates are reluctant to nominate knowing that many of the 2016 councillors have a large amount of money to fund their next campaign.”
CRRA secretary Brian Oates confirmed that the association was preparing to run candidates in the October council elections.
In 2020, Casey councillors were sacked in the early stages of the IBAC Operation Sandon inquiry into alleged corrupt deals involving some councillors and property developers. Since then, the council has been under administration.
As reported recently, several ex-councillors are weighing up re-election campaigns.
Former councillor Rex Flannery – who was not named in the IBAC report and resigned prior to the sackings – said it shouldn’t be a case of “tarring all councillors with the same brush”.
“Brian Oates hasn’t got a leg to stand on – he’s clutching at straws.
“I was not involved in any corruption so I’m entitled to run.
“I’ve suffered my pennance being out of council for four years as well as the indiginity of stepping out of council.”
The former CRRA member also told Star News that he would re-consider if some of the councillors ‘named’ by IBAC also stood.
The dilemma was that none had been charged with any offences so they couldn’t be disqualified, he said.
“Until they’re proven guilty, you can’t say they can’t run (for election).
“You have a moral right as a ratepayer to run – if they want you, they’ll vote for you. If they don’t want you, they’ll kick you out.”
The Local Government Act 2020 sets provisions that disqualify a person from being a councillor.
This includes if they are convicted of an offence in the preceding eight years punishable by imprisonment for two years.
A councillor charged with a serious offence may also be required to stand down by VCAT until the allegations are determined.
A State Government spokesperson said the Government was considering the 33 recommendations in the IBAC Operation Sandon report and “will respond in due course”.
“The Government has announced its intention to introduce reforms to support better council integrity, accountability, and governance ahead of the 2024 general council elections.”
In a reforms paper ahead of its upcoming Local Government (Governance and Integrity) Bill, the Government proposes giving the Local Government Minister the power to suspend individual councillors for up to 12 months.
Suspended councillors would be ineligible for mayor or deputy mayor for the remainder of their term.
If a whole council is dismissed, a person could be disqualified from standing in elections for up to eight years.
In a submission, Casey Council said the disqualification should be activated upon the dismissal of an individual councillor not just an entire council.
It also questioned how to manage the community’s loss of representation during a councillor’s suspension period.
The IBAC inquiry report last year found former Casey mayors Sam Aziz and Geoff Ablett accepted more than $1.15 million in payments and in-kind support from developer John Woodman.
They were found to promote Woodman’s interests in several key planning decisions at Casey without declaring their conflict of interest.
It’s yet to be seen whether any of the ex-councillors will face criminal charges.
Aziz, Ablett and Woodman have denied wrong-doing.
