Bayside Council Mayor Bill Saravinovski accuses councillors of running fake ‘Facebook accounts’ against him in final speech

The retiring mayor of a southern Sydney council has apologised for accusing his fellow councillors of running fake ‘Facebook accounts’ against him at his final meeting.

Retiring Bayside Council mayor Bill Saravinovski has ended his 40 years in local government with a bang, accusing his fellow councillors of running “fake accounts” against him on Facebook before swiftly ending his last ever meeting.

The monthly meeting ran as per usual on Wednesday night before Saravinovski reflected on his career, personally thanked a handful of councillors, and told the council he would dedicate his retirement to the “issue of mental health”.

Then he paused.

“Before I close the meeting, I want to also thank those on Facebook who have the fake accounts,” Mr Saravinovski said.

“I’ve always said my phone is here, if you have an issue with me, a personal issue, call me.

“I’m thick-skinned. All these fake accounts, some of these accounts have been set up by councillors … thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Bill Saravinovski held up his phone and accused fellow councillors of running "fake (Facebook) accounts" against him. Picture: Supplied

The council fell into awkward silence as Mr Saravinovski held up his phone and continued to level the allegations as the councillors sat before him.

“That’s why I never respond back. I needed to say that because I have feelings, I have a family, and nobody has the decency to ring me up and tell me to my face,” he said.

“But they (councillors) hide under fake accounts and a lot of the times and the ones that are not fake accounts, (the information) is not factual.

“So I’m going to miss that because once a week, I have a cup of tea and I go through it (Facebook) and I laugh at the non-factual comments that have been put on there.”

Saravinovski did not allude to what the comments were about, but insisted he “(didn’t) really care, it’s the damage they do to my family and my friends who have stood by me through all this time”.

“To all those fake accounts thank you, I will miss you, and I declare the meeting closed at 8pm,” he said.

Councillors appeared stunned by the unexpected speech. Picture: Supplied

Saravinovski accused councillors of hiding “behind fake accounts” to make comments about him. Picture: Supplied

The livestream swiftly cut off and councillors could be seen with shocked faces, caught off-guard by the unexpected spray.

It comes just two weeks after Saravinovski announced he was leaving local politics and his 21-year-old son, Christopher, would replace him to lead the Labor ticket at the upcoming council election on September 14.

Saravinovski was first elected to council in 1983, aged 21. He departs from Bayside Council after serving as local mayor 11 times.

On Thursday morning, Saravinovski told the St George Shire Standard he wanted to “apologise for the references (made) to councillors” in the speech.

“I wanted to get frustrations off my chest about personal attacks against me on social media,” he said.

Saravinovski urged the people behind the attacks – which he did not suggest were councillors – to “pick up the phone and clarify” any issues they may have with him or the council before taking to social media.