Salim Mehajer: Government confirms ban on holding civic office
CONTROVERSIAL former deputy mayor Salim Mehajer won’t be able to run in this year’s Sydney council elections after the state government confirmed he is banned.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
CONTROVERSIAL former deputy mayor Salim Mehajer won’t be able to run in this year’s Sydney council elections after the state government confirmed he is banned.
Mr Mehajer, who once revealed a burning ambition to become prime minister, was slapped with a three-year ban by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in November 2015, preventing him from managing corporations.
The former Auburn deputy mayor appealed the ban and details of it were suppressed for nearly a year.
The Office of Local Government confirmed the ASIC ban means Mr Mehajer is also disqualified from holding civic office and will be unable to launch a political comeback until it expires — in November 2018.
The property developer’s old stomping ground of Auburn Council was merged with Holroyd last year and is due to hold elections in September, along with other councils created by the state government’s amalgamations drive.
A number of former Auburn councillors have expressed an interest in running for the newly amalgamated Cumberland Council.
The scheduled expiration of Mr Mehajer’s ban would give him enough time to run in the next state election — due in early 2019.
Sources close to the former councillor said Mr Mehajer still harbours ambitions for high office.
“I don’t think the debacle around Auburn Council has dimmed that ambition,” they said.
‘Challenging times’: Rate rise plans for southwest Sydney
Residents from a southwest Sydney council area have two weeks to respond to proposed rate rises, multimillion-dollar festivals and infrastructure upgrades. Find out all the details.
Football hooliganism: Man decks fan over cardboard cutout
A man who punched a fellow soccer fan in the face during a chaotic scene at a Central Coast Mariners semi-final game – sparked by a stolen cardboard cut-out of star player Josh Nisbet – has faced court.