Salim Mehajer: Auburn Council and North Sydney Council face inquiry

AUBURN Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer welcomed a public inquiry into his council, which has been given 14 days to justify why it should not be sacked.

CONTROVERSIAL Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer has welcomed a public inquiry into his council, which has been given 14 days to justify to the state government why it should not be sacked.

Mr Mehajer’s comments follow Local Government Minister Paul Toole announcement of the probe into both Auburn and North Sydney councils yesterday.

Salim Mehajer and Auburn Council face suspension after Local Government Minister Paul Toole announced there would be an inquiry into the council and troublesome North Sydney.

Mr Mehajer, who gained national attention with a lavish multi-million dollar wedding in August which shut down a Lidcombe street, said the latest development would give the council the opportunity to “simply justify the ‘negative press’ that it has been experiencing over the past few months”.

Mr Mehajer has also been at the centre of allegations that he threatened the father of Sydney siege survivor Joel Herat as well as claims that he failed to disclose his interest in a commercial building when he voted on changes that added $1 million to its value.

“I am pleased to see that a public ­inquiry is currently under way,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“It is a great idea to have the inquiry undertaken as any ‘wrongdoings’ by a particular councillor or member of the council staff should (allow them to) be sacked immediately as the council and greater community should not suffer due to a consequence of other members’ poorly guided actions.”

Auburn Council has until February 5 to state its case on why the minister should not suspend it, pending the inquiry. Richard Beasley SC will then hold public hearings into the council. Mr Toole was blunt. “I have serious concerns about ­Auburn City Council’s perceived decision-making in relation to planning and development matters and the ­appearance those ­decisions may have delivered an inappropriate benefit to some councillors,” he said.

“There are ongoing concerns around some councillors’ potential conflicts of interest and it is vital that wherever these perceptions exist, they are looked into, in order to protect the public’s faith in our system of local government.”

The accusations against Mr Mehajer have kept flowing since he shut down the streets of Lidcombe with a lavish wedding ceremony last August, involving four helicopters and a fighter jet as well as luxury cars.

Since then, the property developer has been charged with forging documents to rig the 2012 Auburn Council ballot. He denies any wrongdoing and will defend the charges. He has also pleaded not guilty to making threats to Lindt Cafe siege survivor Joel Herat’s father Bruce, allegedly saying he would kidnap his children during an argument at a Burwood gym.

Mr ­Mehajer was also hauled before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal by the Office of Local ­Government and accused of breaching pecuniary interest laws by failing to declare he had an interest when the council voted to increase floor space ratios and building height for a ­property at 3 Mary St, Auburn which added $1 million to the property’s value.

Salim Mehajer came under public scrutiny following his wedding to Aysha last year.

Mr Mehajer was absent from an ­informal emergency meeting held last night by Auburn City councillors to discuss the inquiry.

Councillor Irene Simms said the seven councillors unanimously agreed the council should remain in place while the investigation is conducted.

A public inquiry under Thomas Howard SC has also been ordered into North Sydney Council with Mr Toole saying it followed the ­repeated failure of councillors to address serious performance issues resulting from the poor ­relationship between them.

The Daily Telegraph revealed yesterday North Sydney had spent almost $150,000 in the past year investigating code of conduct complaints between its councillors. North Sydney Mayor Jilly Gibson welcomed the inquiry, saying it was “long overdue”.

Cartoonist Warren Brown’s view.

GOVERNMENT SHOULD HAVE MOVED ON AUBURN MONTHS AGO

Opinion: Andrew Clennell

MIKE Baird’s government resisted calls to suspend Auburn Council and councillor Salim Mehajer over a stream of allegations last year.

The joke around government circles at the time was why suspend him when he was the best advertisement for council amalgamations the government had proposed.

Now Local Government Minister Paul Toole has finally moved in — on Auburn and the troublesome North Sydney, with The Daily Telegraph revealing yesterday that that council was the subject of 28 code of conduct complaints between councillors which cost $150,000 to investigate.

A raft of other allegations and court issues have beset the now famous Mr Mehajer.

The Auburn and North Sydney clean-up announced today appears to be aimed at ensuring that once Sydney’s 43 councils are turned into 25 next year, some of the old problems of local government do not remain.

The last thing Premier Mike Baird needs is to produce council reform and still have councils as basket cases.

It is difficult to argue, however, with the fact Baird and Toole should have moved on Auburn months ago.