Code of conduct complaint upheld against Tea Tree Gully Council mayor Kevin Knight over clash with election rival Paul Barbaro
A mayor who shouted at an election rival — calling him a “bloody idiot” and “knucklehead” before alleging he was corrupt — could be forced to undergo training. LISTEN TO THE OUTBURST
- Tea Tree Gully mayor shouts at election rival
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- Councillor’s family abandons attempt to sell land
A northeastern mayor has breached his council’s code of conduct nine times for shouting at a councillor, calling him a “bloody idiot” and threatening to report him to ICAC.
Tea Tree Gully Council will decide if any action should be taken against Kevin Knight over his heated clash with Paul Barbaro, who unsuccessfully stood against him at last November’s council elections.
Mr Barbaro complained to the council, ICAC and State Ombudsman about Mr Knight’s behaviour at a council meeting last September, during which he refused to allow residents speak against a road closure at Golden Grove.
A strained relationship between the pair culminated in Mr Knight shouting at Mr Barbaro, accusing him of “grandstanding” during the election campaign and repeatedly ordering him to sit down.
The dispute escalated at the next council meeting in October, when Mr Barbaro declared a conflict of interest and went home early before Mr Knight publicly apologised for his behaviour.
During a lengthy statement read out to the meeting, he detailed an alleged relationship between Mr Barbaro and two Golden Grove developers.
One of the men was involved in the campaign against the Golden Grove road closure and was sitting in the public gallery when Mr Knight berated Mr Barbaro.
Mr Knight told the October meeting that Mr Barbaro’s family owned a large parcel of land near the road which was being sold for possible residential development.
He said he was considering referring “this whole issue” to the Office of Public Integrity (OPI) — the ICAC arm which investigates local government.
Mr Barbaro complained about Mr Knight’s behaviour at the September meeting and his reference to OPI at the October meeting to Ombudsman Wayne Lines and ICAC Commissioner Bruce Lander, saying he had been wrongly accused of corruption.
Mr Lines and Mr Lander assessed the matter before deciding not to investigate, saying it was an issue for the council.
Council spent $10,000 on an investigation by law firm Minter Ellison, which found Mr Knight had breached its code of conduct four times by implying that Mr Barbaro had engaged “in corrupt behaviour or maladministration”.
Minter Ellison found Mr Knight had breached the code another five times by shouting at Mr Barbaro at the September meeting, calling him a “bloody idiot” and later describing him as a “knucklehead” during an interview with The Messenger.
The two men had regular disagreements during meetings over procedures, which ended with Mr Knight telling Mr Barbaro last September to “sit down, sit down, sit down, you bloody idiot. You have been here for 12 years and you still don’t know what a point of order is. Quite ordinary.”
Minter Ellison said it interviewed Mr Knight during its investigation about why he had shouted at Mr Barbaro.
Mr Knight had confirmed that “upon repeated refusal to follow appropriate meeting procedures I did raise my voice at Cr Barbaro and expressed my frustration in a manner that, in hindsight, was probably not appropriate in the context of presiding over a formal meeting of council.”
“We find that Mayor Knight’s conduct (shouting and calling the complainant a “bloody idiot”) does not generate community trust and confidence in the council,” said Minter Ellison.
The law firm said it was up to council to determine whether any action needed to be taken against Mr Knight for the various breaches.
It recommended that nothing needed to be done about him for shouting at Mr Barbaro as he already had publicly apologised last October.
However, it did recommend that Mr Knight undergo training about the legislation under which ICAC operates and his responsibilities as mayor.
The matter will be discussed by council on Tuesday night.