Anab Mohamud: City of Yarra Greens councillor wants to fight watchdog’s case in Supreme Court

An alleged street brawling Greens councillor will fight the local government watchdog’s bid to have her stood down.

Alleged street brawling Greens councillor Anab Mohamud wants to go to the Supreme Court to fight the local government watchdog’s bid for her to stand down from her role.

Ms Mohamud’s Greens party mates at City of Yarra City last month used their numbers to vote down a motion asking for their embattled colleague to stand down after it emerged she had been charged with assault, offensive behaviour and public drunkenness over allegations she drunkenly yelled homophobic slurs and became involved in a street brawl outside a nightclub at South Yarra in April.

She has indicated she will fight the criminal charges.

On Monday, lawyers for the Local Government Inspectorate and Ms Mohamud fronted the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and jointly asked for the watchdog’s “stand down” case against the councillor to be referred to the Supreme Court, so a high-ranking judge could resolve a dispute about a legal technicality.

The taxpayer will foot the bill for Ms Mohamud’s legal costs in the Supreme Court.

Ms Mohamud is the first local government member the watchdog has applied to have individually stood down under a provision which allows it to step in when councillors are charged with serious criminal offences.

Ms Mohamud’s barrister, Adam McBeth, told the court his client “remains a duly elected councillor and she continues to contest the criminal charges”.

Tribunal senior member Elisabeth Wentworth said the legal technicality would be determined by Justice Michelle Quigley, who is both a Supreme Court judge and VCAT president.

Greens Ms Anab Mohamud at a Melbourne Victory FC dinner in May, 2021.

Both Mr McBeth and the Local Government Inspectorate’s barrister, Marion Isobel, said they would prefer for Justice Quigley to deal with the case in her capacity as a Supreme Court judge, even though doing so would cause delays.

Justice Quigley is expected to determine how she will hear the case in coming days.

If the watchdog succeeds in the dispute over the technicality, it will ask the tribunal to order Ms Mohamud to stand down because of “the nature and circumstances” of the serious criminal charges she is facing.

Ms Mohamud is due to face the Magistrates Court for the first time in November.