Two Salisbury councillors have appealed to the Supreme Court to reverse a decision that kicked them out after poor behaviour

Two controversial Salisbury ex-councillors – one who promoted Nazi slogans – have appealed to the Supreme Court to get their spots back.

Two controversial Salisbury councillors – including one who has promoted Nazi slogans online and told colleagues to “f*** off” – have asked the state’s highest court to overturn their removals from office.

But the council has hit back, saying Severina Burner and Grace Bawden will have to take the witness stand and submit to “substantial cross-examination” if they want their jobs back.

On Friday, Ms Burner and Ms Bawden asked the Supreme Court to initiate a judicial review of a vote by the City of Salisbury.

The unanimous decision, in June, came a month after the council resolved to “exercise its power” and remove the duo because they missed three consecutive meetings.

Their absences followed findings they had breached behavioural standards but had not apologised.

Previously, the duo had compared the council’s smart city technology to concentration camps.

Ms Bawden had been criticised for using Nazi terminology as purported “facts”, and calling some council staff and members as “kapos”, on social media.

Ms Burner had posted a photo of a man contorted into a swastika, given a speech espousing her belief in human microchipping conspiracies and has been recorded on video telling colleagues to “f*** off”.

Former Councillors Grace Bawden and Severina Burner were removed from their positions by the City of Salisbury Council after they were deemed to have breached behavioural standards. Pictures: Supplied

On Friday, however, Paul d’Assumpcao, for the pair, said that decision should be subject to the court’s review.

His clients, he said, would assert the vote was a product of a misunderstanding of the Local Government Act and affected by apprehended bias.

He said they would further assert they had been denied procedural fairness.

Counsel for the City of Salisbury said the cases were not ready for hearing, and that they would seek to have passages of the duo’s legal documents struck out.

Any hearing, they said, would likely take three days as there “will be a need to substantially cross-examine” the duo.

Justice Laura Stein ordered the parties to finalise their documentation and return to court for a further pre-review hearing next month.