Hills councillor Raymond Harty resigns from Hills Shire Council amid fraud charges

HILLS Shire councillor Raymond Harty has resigned from local government amid fraud charges.

Hills Shire Councillor Raymond Harty. (AAP Image/ Justin Sanson

HILLS Shire councillor Raymond Harty has resigned from local government amid fraud charges.

Mr Harty tonight revealed to the Hills Shire Times that he issued a formal letter of resignation to the council’s general manager Michael Edgar.

“The reasoning is all set out in my letter of resignation to the general manager,” Mr Harty said. “It is a very expansive letter that I have provided to him and I have left it up to the general manager to decide whether or not that letter is issued to the public.”

In February, the Labor councillor and former general manager of Comet Training was charged with defrauding the Lidcombe-based training company, which was partly owned by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and Master Builders Association (MBA).

Mr Harty, 72, is due to appear at Burwood Court on Thursday, relating to allegedly fraudulent payments into a personal bank account worth more than $220,000.

He has been charged with one count of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.

A senior Labor party spokesman told the Times that Raymond Harty had not advised the party of his intent to resign as a Labor councillor, although he was suspended.

“The officers will meet later this week to discuss the issue,” the spokesman said.

His resignation comes after Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton called for him to step aside during legal proceedings.

Hills Shire Councillor Raymond Harty.

Ms Upton said councillors in NSW must behave with honesty and integrity.

“Given the serious nature of the allegations my expectation is that he should step aside until the matter is resolved,” Ms Upton said.

“If convicted, councillor Ray Harty will be automatically disqualified from holding civic office in any NSW council.”

In February, NSW Police said an investigation began after members of the company reported several irregularities in the accounting.

Flemington police allege several fraudulent payments totalling $445,000 were made into two personal bank accounts between 2011 and 2017.

In a joint statement issued by the MBA and CFMEU a spokeswoman said an issue of financial irregularity was raised by an external financial adviser in November.

Raymond Harty received an OAM in the Australia Day honours.

“Within 24 hours of the board receiving this information, the board took steps to notify the police and appoint liquidators to thoroughly investigate the issue,” the spokeswoman said.

“Independently from becoming aware of this issue and prior to this information being received by the board from its financial adviser, the board had already resolved to wind up the company and cease operation due to the premises where the company is located being sold.”

When contacted by NewsCorp Australia about the charges, Mr Harty said all comments were made through is lawyer.

Mr Harty was first elected to the council in 2004.