Mitcham councillor Darren Kruse apologises after ‘uneducated, low socio-economic bogans’ comment

He says he’s sorry if colleagues in two northern councils were offended when he called the “uneducated, low socio-economic bogans.”

An inner city councillor says councils that voted to stop reading an Acknowledgement of Country at meetings are “full of uneducated, low socio-economic bogans”.

Mitcham councillor Darren Kruse has issued an apology, and says he was using “internalised shorthand” to distinguish between Mitcham and other councils.

Cr Kruse made the comments in an email responding to a constituent who contacted him about the practice.

The Northern Areas Council and Playford Council have in the last month passed motions to stop reading an Acknowledgement of Country at the beginning of every meeting.

In an email sent December 2, Cr Kruse told the constituent that Mitcham had no plan to follow suit.

Indigenous elder Tamaru Kartinyeri (centre) with Blackwood RSL Phil Cotton and Councillor Darren Kruse at the War Memorial in Blackwood. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe.

“Northern Areas Council and Playford Council are full of uneducated, low socio-economic bogans. The City of Mitcham isn’t,” he said.

“The clear majority of our residents are progressive, professionals, highly-educated and supportive of our reconciliation activities.

Councillor Darren Kruse

“Our residents voted 60.2 per cent in favour of the Voice if you look at the AEC booth polling data and according to our local MP.”

He went on to outline reconciliation activities including the recent allocation of $50,000 toward a Reconciliation Action Plan and decision to name a building Tiwu Kumangka.

“We do smoking ceremonies, cultural awareness training and heritage surveys. All funded,” he said.

It is understood the response was forwarded widely, including to members of the Playford and Northern Areas councils.

When contacted by The Advertiser on Wednesday, Cr Kruse said “the email speaks for itself”.

“I was drawing a distinction between the City of Mitcham and those other councils, and the people that live in them,” he said.

“I was using some internalised shorthand to draw the distinction. I’m sorry if I’ve offended anybody.

“That was a private email to one person that he then chose to spread to the entire world.”

He said his support for the Acknowledgement of Country was representative of the views of a majority of his constituents.

“Councillors are responsive to the desires of their community and, clearly, those councils have made that decision in response to their community’s desires,” Cr Kruse said.

“I apologise if someone is offended by my generalisations but I point out that councils are responsive to their constituents and I’m in alignment with my residents.”

Opposition local government spokesman Sam Telfer said councils should always strive to reflect the views of their communities, but such derogatory comments were completely unacceptable.

“Unfortunately, this kind of bad behaviour is allowed to flourish when there’s a lack of leadership, and the Malinauskas government’s Local Government Minister Geoff Brock has been missing in action across the myriad of local government issues,” he said.

Mr Brock said councils were entitled to conduct their meetings in a matter deemed appropriate within local government regulations, “but this does not extend to councillors trading insults or attacking the public”.

“I don’t tolerate bad behaviour but it is up to each council to handle, not for inexperienced members of parliament like Mr Telfer. He is all care and no responsibility,” he said.

Mr Brock said, for instances of repeated and serious misbehaviour that cannot be internally resolved, there are mechanisms like the Behaviour Standards Panel in place.