Parramatta councillor Ben Barrak ejected from 11th meeting — and refuses to leave
Parramatta Council descended into more farce when a councillor refused to leave after being ejected for an 11th straight meeting.
Parramatta
Don't miss out on the headlines from Parramatta . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A maverick Parramatta councillor was booted out of an 11th straight council meeting last night — but for the first time, he dug his heels in and refused to leave the room.
Even when two security guards came to escort him out of the Cloister Function Room at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Liberal councillor Ben Barrak remained in his seat for several minutes as Lord Mayor Andrew Wilson called for a short break just 10 minutes into the meeting.
It was only under the threat of police removal that Cr Barrak left the room.
The eviction comes 124 days after he first copped his marching orders for calling Cr Wilson a “clown”, insulting a council legal representative and storming out with confidential papers.
In a scene which has played out at every council meeting since February 20, Cr Wilson asked Cr Barrak to apologise for his actions in order to put an end to the unsavoury chapter.
However, Cr Barrak refused to do so and the pair engaged in yet another shouting match.
“In a democracy, discussions are no good? You’re running this like a joke,” Cr Barrak said, as Cr Wilson repeatedly called for him to leave the meeting.
Fellow councillors later told the Advertiser the biggest losers in the whole debacle have been ratepayers in Cr Barrak’s Dundas ward.
Cr Barrak has been paid $11,316 in councillor fees since February 20 — and has not represented his constituents in any general council or committee meeting during this time.
Sources say both the Office of Local Government and NSW Liberal Party have launched code-of-conduct investigations into Cr Barrak, who denies any wrongdoing.
He is appealing against a ruling by Justice Tim Moore in the Land and Environment Court that council was within its rights to enforce the expulsion until the councillor apologised. The appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court next month.