Melbourne Councils banning ratepayers for asking too many questions, being rude
Dozens of rude and overly zealous people have been banned from contacting Melbourne councils, with one inner-city municipality alone blacklisting 20 complainants. These are some of the shocking reasons for ending up in the sin bin.
Leader
Don't miss out on the headlines from Leader . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hordes of rude, abusive or overly zealous community campaigners have been added to council “naughty” lists across Melbourne, with some even banned from contacting staff or attending public meetings.
Tying up council resources with repeated “trivial or frivolous” complaints, swearing, or threatening staff could land you on the “vexatious complainants” lists.
The Leader can reveal Port Phillip Council currently has 20 people in the sin bin for “unreasonable conduct”, including physical intimidation, discriminatory remarks, violence and “emotional outbursts”.
Asking questions that “council is deemed to have already responded to” could also get you added to the vexatious complainants list.
Mayor Bernadene Voss said people on the list were issued with service limits or bans, such as restrictions on the type of communication the complainants has with the council, or being barred from entering certain buildings.
Cr Voss said most cases would be reviewed at the end of a six-month period where the chief executive would determine if the bans would be revoked, varied or confirmed depending on the complainants’ behaviour during that time.
“Any new service requests that an individual … needs or wishes to make may still be raised with council,” she said.
“The bans or limitations are specific to the circumstances (of the inappropriate or unreasonable behaviour).
“Unreasonable complainant conduct is any behaviour … which because of its nature or frequency raises substantial health, safety, resource or equity issues for council, councillors, staff, contractors, agents or volunteers.”
In one case, a man was added to the list for repeatedly emailing a council officer about rough sleepers and crime on Fitzroy St, despite “being advised on multiple occasions the issues of … policing, health and housing are not within the authority of local government to manage”.
In 2013, Port Phillip Council banned a man from speaking at council meetings over a series of “offensive and abusive comments towards then Mayor Amanda Stevens, including saying: ‘I hope she gets ovarian cancer’,”.
Former Casey councillor Paul Richardson was barred from asking questions at council meetings in 2011, with police even called to remove him from the chamber on one occasion.
Casey Council currently has three people subject to service limits or bans.
Melton Council’s legal and governance manager Christine Denyer said two people were currently on the council’s list, including one who continued to send about four or five emails a day about an issue the council had already provided a “thorough and comprehensive response” to.
“All emails (from that person) are automatically redirected to two nominated officers for a 12-month period (and) are reviewed for any new issue,” she said.
“If a new issue is raised it is dealt with in the usual manner, however if no new issue is raised the emails are placed on file but not responded to.”
Ms Denyer said the other person had been banned from entering a specific council building for six months in a bid to protect staff there.
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council currently has 12 people on its “unreasonable complaints register” for “extreme” behaviour, including being aggressive or abusive towards staff.
The council’s head of governance and legal Amanda Sapolu said complainants were removed from the lists on a case-by-case basis when “there is no longer a need to manage the unreasonable complainant behaviour”.
MORE:
BAFFLING DISAPPEARANCE SOUTHEAST MELBOURNE NEVER FORGOT
DOES VCAT FAVOUR DEVELOPERS OVER RESIDENTS?
KILLER BUYS: INSIDE MELBOURNE’S MURDER HOUSES
Moreland Council said issuing service limits or bans was “extremely rare”.
Several councils, including Boroondara, Stonnington, Bayside, Glen Eira, Greater Dandenong, Knox, Macedon Ranges, Moonee Valley, and Yarra said they did not currently have vexatious complainant lists.
The Victorian Ombudsman’s guide to Dealing with Challenging Behaviour states it is important to always consider the complaint on its merits.
“Unreasonable behaviour does not preclude there being a valid issue,” the report says.
“Regardless of the person’s behaviour you still need to assess their complaint and deal with it on its merits.”
The report states service limits or bans should be “a last resort” and must be proportionate to the risk posed by the behaviour.
Anyone added to such a list can appeal to the Victorian Ombudsman for a review of the council’s decision.
BLACK LISTED LOCALS
Port Phillip: 20
Mornington: 12
Melton: 2
Frankston: would only say “a small number”