Lismore City Council votes not to censure Mayor Steve Krieg over ABC Four Corners flood recovery comments

Lismore councillors have voted not to censure the mayor after he suggested sacking the council in the wake of last year’s devastating floods. Here’s why.

Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg on ABC's Four Corners on July 11 last year, calling for the council to be sacked. Picture: ABC

Councillors have voted not to censure the mayor of Lismore after he told the ABC that rebuilding after last year’s devastating floods was beyond the local government organisation.

Mayor Steve Krieg told ABC’s Four Corners in July 2022 the council might have to be sacked to clear the way for the northern NSW city’s flood recovery.

In a submission to the council, Mr Krieg said the TV program “grossly misrepresented” him.

The ABC was contacted for comment.

An investigator recommended Mr Krieg be sanctioned after four complaints were made about the comments – three by current councillors and one by a former councillor.

The investigator found Mr Krieg brought council into disrepute with his televised comments, suggesting council was incompetent and dysfunctional.

In the TV program, Mr Krieg said the council alone couldn’t deal with flood recovery – and he called for an “autocratic” approach.

Former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg having a beer at Mary G's in Lismore. Picture: Natalie Grono

“You can’t do the work that needs to be done in Lismore through the council,” he said.

“You actually need to sack the council to make this happen.”

A motion to sack Mr Krieg was defeated six votes to four at the July 2022 council meeting.

Councillor Big Rob has subsequently put up multiple successive no-confidence votes in the mayor that have failed to gain support from fellow councillors.

The investigator found the comments were inappropriate and caused “shock and distress” to the community.

In his submissions, Mr Krieg said the ABC took his comments out of context, and “grossly misrepresented” him by selectively using only a few quotes from hours of conversation.

Lismore City Council’s executive team with Mayor Steve Krieg (centre).

The investigator found Mr Krieg had made the comments as a private citizen, with the mayor prefacing the comments with: “This is a very personal opinion, this is not a council statement”.

That said, the investigator determined the mayor’s comments had brought council into disrepute, and recommended council censure him.

At their meeting last night councillors Andrew Bing, Andrew Gordon, Jerri Hall and Electra Jensen voted not to censure the mayor.

Councillors Elly Bird and Darlene Cook voted to censure.