Police escort councillors out of fiery City of Casey meeting
The City of Casey Council mayor has slammed residents for their “threatening behaviour” at a meeting on Tuesday night which resulted in police being called in to protect council workers.
Victoria
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The mayor of scandal-ridden City of Casey has slammed residents for their “threatening behaviour” toward councillors at a fiery council meeting on Tuesday night.
Councillors and staff were escorted out of a the first council meeting of the year by police following an onslaught of heckles from hundreds of angry ratepayers.
The crowd of about 500 residents booed, swore and shouted at mayor Stefan Koomen as he tried to chair the meeting in Narre Warren.
The protests began almost immediately, with Mayor Stefan Koomen unable to get through the acknowledgement of country or the council’s diversity statement before being shouted down.
Mr Koomen said he was “incredibly disappointed” with the crowd behaviour, saying it would “not be tolerated”.
“We had a number of residents attending the meeting in good faith, expecting to hear a response to their questions,” he said.
“Unfortunately they, along with our staff and my fellow councillors, were subjected to threatening behaviour.
“The wellbeing and safety of community and staff attending our meetings is our top priority. The situation escalated to a point where the police had to be called due to the actions of some individuals in the gallery.”
Police said they were called to the meeting at Patrick Northeast Drive about 6.15pm “to ensure no breaches of the peace occurred”.
It is the first meeting the City of Casey has held outside of business hours, to give ratepayers the opportunity to attend.
Mr Koomen said he understood the “real frustration” felt in the community following five years under administration after the council was rocked by a corruption scandal in 2020.
An investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) found that former councillors Sam Aziz and Geoff Ablett had pocketed donations and payments from a property developer and in exchange swayed planning decisions.
The Herald Sun reported at the time the donation scandal broke that Sam Aziz had pocketed $900,000. The council was subsequently sacked and replaced with administrators until October 2024.
“The new Councillors acknowledge this and we’re looking forward to listening and representing our community,” Mr Koomen said.
“However, last night’s behaviour is not the way to go about this.
“I’d like to thank all the members of the Casey community who have reached out to me and my fellow councillors with messages of support.”
Why were Casey residents frustrated?
Ratepayers took issue with a proposed $27m waste transfer station to be built within 250m of homes across from the Hallam tip during the meeting.
Councillors were met by an onslaught of questions about the waste facility build before residents loudly booed and shouted “bullshit”.
The council has also copped backlash over changes made to local laws which require homeowners to apply for private land use permits of up to $473 to store vehicles on their properties.
The council charges a non-refundable $150 application fee, plus a permit fee of $150 for residents to use mini-bikes, motorbikes, go-karts on their own properties.
Residents are also now charged $250 per vehicle to store “derelict or unregistered vehicles” and $350 for long-term storage of caravans, camper trailers and tents.
Casey council said the intention of the permits was to “support and protect the peace, health, safety and wellbeing of the community”.
Mr Koomen told the angry crowd the new permits were “not a revenue raising exercise” and had only raised $8000 in the last 18 months.
His comments were jeered, with one frustrated resident shouting “shut your f---ing mouth”.
Videos posted to social media show the meeting was twice adjourned due to escalating tensions in the room.
Footage shows a Casey City staff member saying “we either need to have a break or persist (with the questioning)”.
The staffer then requested the crowd remain quiet for a second time before officially adjourning the meeting.
“Under clause 79 of the City of Casey government’s rules, I’m adjourning this meeting for 10 minutes,” the staff member said.
However, once the meeting was reconvened, it was quickly adjourned again.
Just before 8pm councillors and staff the meeting would resume at a later date.
Booing and cries of “bullshit” were heard from the public gallery as councillors refused to take further questions.
The Lynbrook Residents Association slammed councillors for their “bureaucratic reflections” following the “intense” meeting in Facebook post.
“Tonight’s council meeting was intense, and understandably, many residents left feeling frustrated and unheard. Concerns about private land use, waste transfer station (WTS), governance, transparency and many more were raised, yet the responses from council fell short of what our community deserves,” the residents association wrote.
“Residents expect accountability, transparency, and genuine engagement, not just bureaucratic deflections.
“To everyone who showed up, spoke up, and stood together — thank you. This is not the end of the conversation. We continue to advocate for what is right.
“Please remember to respect our councillors. They are the people on the ground, actually hearing out residents, and they are locals just like yourself.”
After the meeting, one resident said: “Casey Council did not care about the people that attended. They just wanted to read what was on their paper and continue to control and dictate to us and also act as if they have power and the right to enter private property when they like and treat us with disrespect and as if we don’t know what’s happening”.
Another person wrote on Facebook: “They need to do a vote of no confidence on all council members and get rid of them, they have no right to do what they’re doing to people that own their own property.”
Originally published as Police escort councillors out of fiery City of Casey meeting
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