By Elizabeth Hart
A FORMER City of Casey mayor is using the Whistleblowers Protection Act to make a submission to the Ombudsman about events at Casey Council over the past two years.
Janet Halsall’s submission calls for an investigation into ALP interference and bullying during the previous council.
It is one of at least three submissions to the Ombudsman about Casey Council.
Ms Halsall fears “reprisals”, she told the News on Monday.
The move follows the release two weeks ago of an Ombudsman’s report into activities at the ALP controlled Brimbank Council in Melbourne’s west.
The Ombudsman’s report lists bullying and intimidation at the Brimbank council.
“I can see nothing in the Brimbank report that comes close to the extent of bullying at Casey during my mayoral term and the extent of efforts to destroy good governance,” Ms Halsall said.
Her comments coincide with South Eastern Metropolitan Region MP Inga Peulich’s statements in State Parliament this month calling for an end to ALP caucusing on council decisions.
Ms Peulich is also calling for an anti-corruption commission, following the revelations of the Ombudsman’s report.
Casey Council has no endorsed ALP councillors.
Deputy mayor Daniel Mulino said the ALP rules therefore would not apply to Casey.
But Crs Lorraine Wreford, Wayne Smith, and Sam Aziz say caucus meetings continue to influence the outcome of votes.
Cr Shar Balmes, who won office in November, says she has “never been pressured by anybody”.
“I haven’t seen such influences at work in Casey,” she said.
Long-term councillor Wayne Smith, an ALP member since 1994, says he has never been part of an official caucus but he believes some councillors do pre-determine their votes.
“I have never been invited to attend those meetings,” Cr Smith said.
“I believe the public would be concerned to know that ALP councillors are required to abide by the ALP rules.
“Some councillors throughout Casey’s history have been doing the bidding of their political masters; it just hasn’t always been that obvious.”
Ms Halsall and Cr Wreford said the ALP required its members, whether endorsed or supported, to pre-determine the selection of the mayor.
Clause 12.6.6 of the ALP rules states that “the vote of an absolute majority of eligible Caucus members shall bind all members of Caucus and no member shall oppose in debate in council any matter which has been determined by caucus, except by agreement of Caucus.”
Clause 12.6.9 requires members of the caucus wishing to introduce an item in the council under general business to first submit that item to the caucus for its consideration.
The document has in the past week gone from the ALP website.
The requirement to pre-determine the mayoral vote has determined the identity of Casey mayors for the next three years, Cr Aziz says.
“This is a form of dictatorship,” he said. “The public ought to be horrified.”
Clause 12.6.5 of the ALP rules requires endorsed councillors to pre-determine votes also on the annual budget, the appointment of senior officers, and council policies.
Cr Aziz, who won a seat on the council last November but was not part of the previous council, and who was formerly associated with the ALP, said he wanted to vote on local issues through a prism of “fairness, equality, and standing up for the little guy”.
The rules forbid independent voting and require caucus meetings before each council meeting.
Cr Kevin Bradford said on Monday the ALP rules did not apply to him because he was not an endorsed ALP councillor.
In response, Cr Bradford said he believed Ms Peulich’s comments were purely politically motivated.
Cr Bradford said it could be a benefit to the community for a councillor to work in an MP’s office, and that when Ms Halsall had worked at the ALP office of Judith Graley the Star News Group in editorial comment had recognised this.
Ms Halsall said on Friday she had been “isolated, harrassed, and intimidated” during her mayoral term in the previous council for refusing to vote along party lines on the push to advertise the CEO’s position before the contract expired.
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Cr Aziz said the ALP presence at Casey Council was distorted by the actions of a few, and that he still held to the Labor values of fairness and equality.
“This distortion became evident with attempts last year to evict the chief executive officer,” he said.
“I wasn’t prepared to play ball. Decisions about people’s work and lives should go through a fair process. I would prefer to make decisions on merit.”
Following the Ombudsman’s report on Brimbank, the Premier has agreed to prohibit the employment of councillors at electorate offices.
Two Casey councillors, Daniel Mulino and Kevin Bradford, are employed at electorate offices.
Cr Lynette Keleher is endorsed for the Greens.
She is Casey’s only endorsed councillor.
