Councillor Bronwyn Lewis to be monitored after bizarre tirade of Facebook comments

A Fleurieu Peninsula councillor has been put on notice after calling her council a ‘two-man show’ and accusing them of favouring one town over the other. Read her posts.

A Fleurieu Peninsula councillor has said she will wear her code of conduct charges as a ‘badge of honour’ after airing grievances about her own council over social media.

Elected members of Alexandrina Council moved a motion that will see administration monitor any further social media activity from councillor Bronwyn Lewis, after she claimed council was a ‘two-man show’ and favours Goolwa over other towns.

Cr Bronwyn Lewis has faced a code of conduct charge. Picture: Alexandrina Council

In a 21-page report, law firm MinterEllison recommended Cr Lewis’ accounts be monitored for any further breaches of code after she was found to have breached a number of codes through multiple social media posts and commentary regarding projects such as the Goolwa Wharf Revitalisation Project, Sugars Beach, St Mary’s Oval and the Goolwa Community Centre.

“Cr Lewis’ comments have led to tirades about community lack of confidence in

the council,” the report read.

Alexandrina Councillor Bronwyn Lewis was found to publicly scrutinised her council on Facebook.

“Members of the public are now making statements such as ‘make sure you’re enrolled to vote, we need to throw out the whole council’.

“In this way, Cr Lewis’ posts have done a lot to destabilise confidence in the

council and its decisions.”

In one Facebook post, Cr Lewis suggested the Alexandrina Council ‘do not deliver’ and require ‘following up’, implying that council staff do not carry out their duties and responsibilities in a proper and timely manner.

The post, referred to as comment 1 in the report, goes on to assert that ‘stuff just keeps on rolling out for Goolwa’, and implies that the resource allocation to Goolwa is inequitable, and which council cannot afford.

Cr Lewis Facebook rant on how council won't deliver on certain projects.

“This assertion conveys to the community that the council (as a whole) treats the Goolwa area favourably compared to the Port Elliot and Middleton areas,” the report states.

“A member of the community may find their trust and confidence in the council diminished, and more particularly, consider that the Council treats ratepayers unfairly and does not distribute council resources (and attention) objectively and impartially.”

When questioned, Cr Lewis took full responsibility for her comments and continued to ‘stand by’ her posts.

“I’m going to continue making social media posts. I wear Code of Conduct complaints as a badge of honour,” she said.

“If speaking the truth and speaking up for my constituents is guilty of a Code of Conduct I am happy for this to go on the record.

“I will continue to speak up until my elected term finishes and think that this complaint by a ‘faceless’ complainant says more about them than me.”