Burnside councillor Julian Carbone’s ‘bikini message’ investigation costs ratepayers $11k

An investigation into a recently-married councillor who allegedly sent a social media message to a teenage girl about bikinis has cost ratepayers $11,500.

A recently-married councillor has been the subject of a $11,500 investigation into allegations he sent an inappropriate message to the Instagram account of a 17-year-old girl.

According to a Code of Conduct Complaint report released by Burnside Council, the teenager complained about long-serving elected member Julian Carbone after she posted pictures of herself in a bikini on her Instagram account.

Cr Carbone responded with a direct message from his Instagram account saying “lots of bikini photos — but it’s so damn cold at the moment hey”.

In her complaint, included in the report, the young woman said she did not believe it was appropriate for an elected public official to post such a comment.

“His Instagram is titled ‘juliancarboneburnsidecouncil’ and upon viewing this public account I observed that it contained the following information: ‘Julian Carbone is an elected member of Burnside City Council’,” she said.

“As such, it is reasonable for me to assume that this Instagram account is either provided by or sanctioned by the Burnside Council.

“As a public account, the people who Cr Carbone is following are able to be seen.

“I have noted that a concerning number of these people are under-age females.”

Burnside councillor Julian Carbone

Message sent to a 17-year-old girl by Julian Carbone.

The young woman said she believed “community trust and confidence would be significantly eroded in the knowledge of a council member who communicates with minors on Instagram in relation to photos of them in bikinis”.

Burnside Council referred the complaint to its lawyers, Norman Waterhouse, who passed it onto another Adelaide law firm, Mellor Olsson, for investigation.

It engaged a cyber security expert, Mark Gare, to examine Cr Carbone’s social media accounts when he denied sending the message,

Cr Carbone, who got married in February and has an infant son, instead said it was a mistake, sent by a friend or his council-branded Instagram account had been hacked.

In a report to be presented to council on Tuesday night, Mellor Olson said the investigation by Mr Gare had determined Cr Carbone used his Instagram account to send the message last November.

Its 150-page report said Mr Gare also found Cr Carbone followed a number of Instagram accounts “that would be considered inappropriate in the work environment”.

“Those accounts include young girls in bikinis and gym clothes, noting that these are accounts Cr Carbone is ‘following’ rather than being accounts where Cr Carbone is being ‘followed’,” it said.

The report said Mr Gare had found “no evidence of Cr Carbone having any inappropriate interactions with minors”.

It recommended Cr Carbone be ordered by council to issue a public apology and undergo social media training.

A staff report said the legal investigation by Mellor Olsson had cost $11,500.

In a statement, Cr Carbone said it was the “biggest misunderstanding I have ever come across in my 20-year association with Burnside Council”.

“Quite simply, the message was sent in error, she was not the intended recipient,” he said.

“Unfortunately I simply don’t take the time to assess each and every one of my Instagram followers on whether they are, in fact, true or fake accounts.”

Cr Carbone said the “whole investigation” had been “sad, cruel and unnecessary”.