Upper Hunter Shire Mayor Maurice Collison responds after resignation of Greens councillor Sue Abbott

The Upper Hunter Shire Mayor has admitted things could have been handled differently after a councillor, who was grieving the loss of her son, quit over claims of “appalling” conduct.

Upper Hunter Shire councillor Sue Abbott resigned after about six years in the role. Supplied.

The Mayor of the Upper Hunter Shire Council has admitted things could have been handled a little differently after a fellow councillor, who was on compassionate leave, abruptly quit over what she says was “appalling” conduct from council.

Maurice Collison said the resignation of Sue Abbott was “very sad”, stemming from an incident which saw the Greens councillor reported to the Office of Local Government (OLG).

On a six month break, mourning the tragic death of her son, Ms Abbott was set to return to council in mid-November.

But after hearing from fellow councillor Liz Flaherty, who was also on personal leave, that they had both been reported for not handing in a pecuniary interest form, she said she simply couldn’t “take it anymore”.

Ms Abbott was “shocked” by the action, labelling it “ridiculous” when she was on leave for just about “the worst reason ever”.

Upper Hunter Shire Mayor Maurice Collison admits things could of happened differently. Supplied.

Former Greens Upper Hunter Shire councillor Sue Abbott tendered her resignation from council on November 1, 2022. Supplied.

“I think the General Manager (Greg McDonald) handled it under the act, there was a recommendation to councillors. I suppose councillors could have handled things a little differently if they wished to,” Cr Collison told The Newcastle News.

“I know there was questions asked to councillors prior to that had anyone contacted councillor Abbott and they said they tried to but no response. I sent text messages through, I tried to ring a couple of times but she didn’t return which is quite understandable under the circumstances.

“That’s no excuse, this is a very hard time for the Abbott family.”

Councillor Elizabeth Flaherty was also reported to the OLG for not handing in her pecuniary interest form.

Cr Collison said whatever happened, the call was made by the General Manager that it had to be reported.

A spokesperson for council responded earlier that there was “no discretion” in the code of conduct to consider extenuating circumstances.

He said while reasoning was provided for Ms Abbott and the case dropped by the OLG, councillor Flaherty was asked not to do it again.

Cr Flaherty had made comments that the move in the October meeting to report them was “orchestrated” by council and she believed it to be a “deliberate act” in a bid to victimise Ms Abbott.

“She had plenty of opportunities to produce her pecuniary interest form, she could have even tabled it at the council meeting and we would have accepted it,” Cr Collison said.

“Why she didn’t I do not know.”

The Mayor also addressed culture issues raised among the council and said if anyone, including councillors or staff, had an issue, it should be reported.

“If someone has an issue, no good bottling it up, it needs to be reported. It needs to be put through the right channels and an official complaint needs to be put in,” he said.

“We’re not all perfect, I’ve made mistakes but making a mistake is admitting to a mistake.

“Leave politics out the door, we’re here elected as council members to act on behalf of the community so surely as adults you can come into a room and be fair and reasonable.”

When asked if the council had a good culture, he replied, “I believe so, you’re not going to satisfy everyone, there’s nine councillors sitting in the room”.

Cr Collison said after the whole form saga he wanted to let Ms Abbott know she could still come to him for a chat.

“I wish Sue and her family all the very best and if Sue wanted to sit down with a cup of coffee, I’ve got no problems in sitting down,” he said.