Lismore councillor Big Rob avoids censure over pod village flood victim comments

A Lismore councillor has been investigated – and cleared by his counterparts – after speaking about “paedophiles” and “drug users” while opposing flood victim pod villages.

Lismore Pod Village and Cr Big Rob.

A Lismore councillor has been investigated and found not to have breached Code of Conduct after speaking about “paedophiles” and “drug users” while opposing flood victim pod villages.

Lismore City Council voted during its March meeting not to censure councillor Big Rob, finding he did not breach the code.

It comes after Cr Rob copped a spray from then-general manager John Walker in January this year, in relation to Code of Conduct complaints against Cr Rob.

“As a Councillor you are required to adhere to the provisions of the Local Government Act, Regulations and Codes,” Mr Walker wrote.

Former Lismore City Council general manager John Walker with Mayor Steve Krieg at the council chambers.

“This is required in the statutes and in the oath you took on becoming a councillor.

“The costs you are committing council to are enormous. The strain you are putting on Council staff is outrageous.”

Cr Rob replied that he would not respond to a “stream of code of conduct complaints and investigations looking to discredit, silence or control” him if he was not given the name of the complainant or details. He said he was not shown “procedural fairness”.

Councillor Big Rob.

An independent investigator, barrister Nicolas Harrison, found Cr Rob carried out “serious breaches” of the code when he allegedly conflated flood victims seeking emergency housing with “paedophiles” and “drug users” while opposing the villages at Hepburn and Clifford Park during a debate in the November 8 council meeting.

Mr Harrison found Cr Rob’s words were “deliberate and calculated” to convey some of those moving into pod housing would include “paedophiles” and “drug users”.

Cr Rob said at the time he managed “quite a few boarding houses” where he dealt with “the lowest socio economic groups you can imagine”.

Lismore Pod Village off Military Rd in East Lismore. Picture: Cath Piltz

“Every now and then police come through and arrest someone (at the boarding house) for being a paedophile,” he said.

In December last year, The Australian reported that Cr Rob’s comments about his experience managing boarding houses made the flood-affected think: “He’s calling us all criminals”.

Cr Rob replied at the time: “When I said publicly that we were going to have issues with paedophiles and drug users in these pods, I wasn’t calling all flood survivors paedophiles and drug users.”

It’s understood Cr Rob tried to identify the complainants and said he would not respond to the complaints unless he knew where they originated, and that he tried to seek another way to resolve the matter without censure, including an apology, which was refused.

At the meeting, councillors Andrew Bing, Peter Colby, Andrew Gordon, Jeri Hall and Electra Jensen voted not to censure Cr Rob.

Councillors Elly Bird, Vanessa Ekins, Adam Guise and Mayor Steve Krieg voted for the censure. Cr Darlene Cook was absent.

It is understood Cr Rob is currently facing further complaints.

Lismore City Council. Back row: Councillors Peter Colby, Big Rob, Andrew Bing, Vanessa Ekins, Andrew Gordon and Adam Guise. Front row: Elly Bird, Jeri Hall, Mayor Steve Krieg, Electra Jensen, and Darlene Cook.

In response, Cr Rob said: “The Mayor and councillors who voted to censure me are either hostile political opponents who will always vote to censure me, or they clearly cannot think for themselves as they were present at the meeting where I spoke and no-one raised an issue at the time. “

“If my words were offensive, a point of order or act of disorder should have been raised.

“Similar to a previous code of conduct matter where I was censured, which involved Facebook posts unrelated to my role as a councillor, it was once again a very poorly informed and lowly educated Facebook keyboard warrior group of hostile political opponents who campaigned to see complaints submitted to discredit me and see me removed as a councillor.”

Councillor Big Rob.

Cr Rob said he did not assist those reviewing his conduct because details were withheld.

“Since I do not assist the very expensive conduct reviewers, who make a lot of money off ratepayers by unilaterally deciding to investigate, their recommendations provide my political opponents on council with opportunities to try to publicly discredit me,” he said.

“I do not assist the conduct reviewers because complainant and other essential details are withheld from respondents.

“There is no procedural fairness in what has long been a very broken code of conduct process.”

The council was not able to reveal more information as any matters would be dealt with confidentially.

An Office of Local Government spokesperson said: “it is not appropriate to comment on alleged breaches of a council’s code of conduct”.