Gawler councillor Ian Tooley in fiery exchange over non-attendance at meetings
A Gawler councillor who missed three consecutive meetings has lashed out at his fellow elected members, showing them a photo of his wife in ICU to defend his absences.
North & North East
Don't miss out on the headlines from North & North East. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Gawler Council boss seeks contract extension
- How to make the most out of your Advertiser subscription
A local councillor who faced expulsion due to non-attendance at meetings says he is a victim of discrimination.
Gawler councillor Ian Tooley last night made the accusation while defending his absence from the previous three council meetings.
Under the Local Government Act, a council can dismiss a member for missing three consecutive meetings.
In a statement to last night’s fiery online meeting, Cr Tooley said while official council minutes showed he missed the meetings, the reasons for his non-attendance were not recorded.
He said he did not attend the January meeting as he was at the Australian Tennis Open, the February meeting due to illness and the March meeting because he and his wife, who Cr Tooley said suffered from a compromised immune system, had been in self-isolation due to COVID-19.
Cr Tooley asked council staff to share a photo of his wife on a respirator in an intensive care unit to highlight the danger the virus posed, and a letter from his doctor explaining her medical situation, but Mayor Karen Redman refused the request.
“So, Mayor, you continue to discriminate against me; you will not let me put the photographs up, you will not let me put the letter up,” Cr Tooley said during the meeting.
He then berated his fellow elected members for “sitting there, rolling their eyes” and not having any compassion for his situation.
He said only Cr Jim Vallelonga contacted him to check on his wellbeing.
His request for an official absence from the March meeting had lapsed due to the lack of a seconder, an action he last night described as “despicable”.
“How do you sleep at night? I am absolutely disgusted that my fellow councillors had no compassion,” he said.
He then chose to remove himself from the meeting while his absences were discussed, saying he did “not want to listen to the filthy debate that goes on”.
MORE NEWS
Inspectors report 112 instances of social distancing breaches
Council to consider giving residents bigger bins
Outdoor ‘sculpture park’ proposed for River Torrens
In that debate, Cr Diane Fraser successfully pushed for staff to prepare a report on Cr Tooley’s “repeated and sustained behaviour and breaches”.
“Something needs to be done about it. I don’t know if removing him from council over non-attendance is as big a problem as what his behaviour is,” Cr Fraser said.
She was backed by Cr Paul Little, who said he had no beef with Cr Tooley’s absences, but rather with his conduct.
“His conduct sometimes is not befitting a councillor … (it) needs to be looked into,” Cr Little said.
Cr Paul Koch said it was clear Cr Tooley had a history of “pretty poor behaviour on this council” and “it was getting worse”’
“We were elected by the community to provide leadership … it’s up to us as a group to do something now,” Cr Koch said.
Cr Tooley, who was deputy mayor in 2015, 2017 and 2018, returned to the meeting, holding up a picture of his wife previously in hospital.
“That is what my wife looked like in ICU and you would not believe me,” he said.
“You are disgusting, so I had no hesitation in showing those photographs … you look away and you roll your eyes, you just don’t care.”