Councillor Natalia Muszkat reveals social media struggles after OIA complaint dismissed

Gladstone councillor speaks out: “When people cross the line and then when you have officers who accuse you of things and they give you three days to reply without even understanding what the issue is, you have to prove that you’re innocent, instead of the other person proving that you’re guilty.”

A Gladstone region councillor has revealed the painful toll social media has taken on her life after the loss of her father to Covid-19 and a complaint made to the Office of the Independent Assessor.

The OIA has dismissed a complaint about Councillor Natalia Muszkat who allegedly ‘inappropriately’ blocked a member of the public from her official Facebook page.

The complaint, which was filed by a man who was blocked after repeatedly tagging Ms Muszkat, leading to people making disparaging comments about her character and Argentinian heritage, was thrown out and the man was issued with a warning over the ‘vexatious’ complaint.

He alleged that this breached his human rights

“I’m relieved that it’s been dismissed,” Ms Muszkat said.

Many people can send anonymous complaints through about councillors which take only a minute and a half to make, and can be done just because people don’t like them or agree with their opinion, according to Ms Muszkat.

“I stood up against these complaints because I wasn't just going to [sit down] and do nothing because this is unfair,” she said.

“But when people cross the line and then when you have officers who accuse you of things and they give you three days to reply without even understanding what the issue is, you have to prove that you’re innocent, instead of the other person proving that you’re guilty.”

Cr Natalia Muszkat at her first Gladstone Regional Council meeting on December 4, 2018.

On November 16, the OIA confirmed it was not investigating Ms Muszkat, rather asking for her side of the story after a complaint was made.

The OIA is required by law to assess every complaint.

The complainant was issued with a vexatious complaint warning by the OIA and the complaint was dismissed on November 18.

“This dismissal was done at the earliest opportunity after asking the councillor for their side of the story,” an OIA spokeswoman said.

“The councillor was never under investigation.

“In dismissing the complaint, the OIA took into account the circumstances that led to the member of the public being blocked.”

A complaint about Deputy Mayor Kahn Goodluck blocking a person from his official Facebook page was also dismissed on November 12.

Ms Muszkat previously told the Courier-Mail that she blocked the man to protect herself and her kids.

For the first time in 15 years, Ms Muszkat has decided to take a break from Facebook and has since deleted her page, but she says it’s not just because of the OIA complaint.

Her parents in Argentina contracted Covid-19 this year and sadly, her father died from the disease on May 14. Ms Muszkat said it was the worst three weeks of her life.

The barrage of content and comments coming through Facebook has started to take a toll on Cr Muszkat.

“I’m also a normal person,” Ms Muszkat said.

“I try not to respond but I’m still looking at what’s happening.”

She expressed her frustration at federal MPs discouraging people from getting vaccinated and public health being used as a political tool.

“I encourage everyone to take a break from social media because there’s so much happening in real life with real people,” she said.

Although she has pulled down her Facebook page, Ms Muszkat said she was still available to be contacted by the community via email, phone and other methods.