The deputy mayor of Wyndham City Council has been accused of serious misconduct and barred from communicating with council staff as a result of a bullying probe.
Deputy Mayor Jasmine Hill, a secondary school teacher elected to the council in 2020, should be investigated by an independent conduct panel, according to a public Notice of Motion, which will be put to a vote at a council meeting on Tuesday evening.
Wyndham City Council Deputy Mayor Jasmine Hill has been accused of bullying.Credit:Wyndham City Council
Josh Gilligan, a previous mayor of Wyndham and the Labor-aligned councillor behind the motion, has also claimed that Hill, who sits as an independent, previously threatened to “hurt” him if he ever named her publicly over the allegations.
The Notice of Motion reveals the saga began earlier in the year when Wyndham council chief executive Stephen Wall hired an independent consultant to interview affected staff after “concerns he had in relation to the treatment of [council] staff by some councillors”.
“It was noted that some of the allegations [heard and documented by the independent consultant], if substantiated, could constitute serious misconduct,” the document reads.
As a result of the consultant’s report to the chief executive, Hill was barred from contact with most staff members, but the final report from the consultant was never shared with other councillors, according to Gilligan’s motion.
Gilligan said he was raising a motion to have the consultant’s report released to refer the deputy mayor to a conduct panel, as other avenues to resolve the matter had failed, including asking for intervention from Local Government Minister Melissa Horne and the council watchdog, the Local Government Inspectorate.
“Staff working at Wyndham City Council have the right to come to work in a safe environment – free from bullying, harassment and improper conduct,” Gilligan said in the motion.
“Despite our CEO reaching out to both the minister for local government and the chief municipal inspector, it feels that nothing is being done to protect the staff here at Wyndham City.
“The CEO has put in place some measures to try and protect staff, which is the extent of what he can do under legislation, but it is felt that these measures are not enough.
Councillor Josh Gilligan is bringing forward a motion to investigate Wyndham’s deputy mayor over bullying allegations.Credit:Jason South
“If the concerns raised in connection with the report are so serious that Cr Jasmine Hill is no longer permitted to interact directly or indirectly with the majority of council staff, this matter must be addressed via a councillor conduct panel.”
Earlier this month, before naming Hill in his Notice of Motion, Gilligan alleged in a Facebook post that he had been threatened by an unnamed fellow councillor.
“This councillor threatened to “hurt me” if I published their name and referred them for investigation,” his post read.
“A threat that amplifies why an independent councillor conduct panel is the only way to resolve this matter once and for all.”
Gilligan has now confirmed to The Age that he was referring to Hill in the Facebook post.
Hill did not respond to a request for comment.
Bullying allegations at councils are usually dealt with internally, but serious matters can be referred to an independent conduct tribunal. In this case, a majority of councillors would need to vote to reveal the contents of the consultant’s report to substantiate such a serious referral.
Gilligan said while he and other councillors did not have access to the consultant report, “we have a state of knowledge of what is happening to our staff and, absent action from other oversight bodies, we are compelled to act”.
A spokesman for the Local Government Inspectorate said it dealt with integrity matters only and could only inform councils on “potential resolution methods”.
The document to be presented on Tuesday night shows Gilligan and Liberal councillor Mia Shaw had written to Horne, the local government minister, in July asking for a municipal monitor to be installed, such as those in place at Darebin and Yarra councils.
Gilligan told The Age that the minister had “ignored our pleas for help due to poor laws governing councillor behaviour”. “She cannot sit back and watch as the impasse impacts on the performance of our council,” he said.
Horne said the state government was “serious about improving culture in local councils” and she had “received assurances” that Wyndham council had the matter in hand.
“I have been in regular correspondence with the mayor of Wyndham City Council and have also met with the council’s CEO to address concerns around behaviour,” she told The Age.
“Following my engagement with the council, I received assurances that they were taking action to resolve these issues, including the appointment of an independent consultant to assist with improving workplace culture.”
A Wyndham City Council spokesman declined to comment citing “the confidential nature of these matters” but added: “Bullying and harassment in any form is not tolerated at Wyndham City.”
Wyndham council consists of three Labor members, one Liberal member and seven independents.
Gilligan himself has faced two independent arbitrations this year after complaints from fellow councillor Sahana Ramesh, an independent, and Mayor Peter Maynard, a fellow Labor member, that he had breached standards of conduct.
The complaints related to alleged offensive remarks made to other councillors and the public, as well as allegations he misled the public over a dispute about citizenship ceremonies.
In both cases, the arbiter found the councillor did not breach any of the relevant standards of conduct and no disciplinary action was taken.
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