Jasmine Hill: Wyndham councillor’s shock decision amid bullying claims

A woman at the centre of serious bullying accusations has made the extraordinary call to make the allegations public. Find out why.

A deputy mayor allegedly barred from interacting with staff amid bullying accusations has made an extraordinary decision that could see her brought before a conduct review panel.

In an unusual turn of events at Wyndham City’s council meeting on Tuesday, Councillor Jasmine Hill proposed a motion to have a confidential report detailing any allegations against her made public.

“It‘s pretty clear I don’t believe I make (sic) anything wrong, but if I do (sic) I’m very willing to make changes to improve myself,” she said.

The motion was brought forward after an original motion by Councillor Josh Gilligan, calling for Ms Hill to be referred to an independent panel, failed.

The allegations originate from a confidential report initiated by newly-appointed chief executive Stephen Wall to examine the treatment of staff by councillors.

The confidential report was never shared with council, but led him to write to Local Government Minister Melissa Horne for advice and to implement training for councillors.

Wyndham Council councillor Josh Gilligan photo taken from council's website Feb 3 2021

Wyndham City Council Deputy Mayor Jasmine Hill has been accused of bullying.

“The chief executive has made an operational decision to isolate Councillor Jasmine Hill from the majority of council staff,” Mr Gilligan said.

“An extraordinary intervention that could only be informed by extraordinary evidence. The public and council have a right to know what the evidence is that has been relied upon by the chief executive to make such a strong and decisive decision.”

Only two of Wyndham’s 10 councillors in attendance voted in favour, leading Councillor Adele Hegedich to propose an alternative.

She called on the council to direct Mr Wall to provide a confidential summary of the allegations against “all councillors”.

“This will allow us once and for all to stop the rumour mill and take action on what we need to,” she said.

The alternative narrowly failed after Mayor Peter Maynard exercised his right to cast a tie-breaking vote, saying there were processes in place to deal with the allegations but because they were confidential “we cannot mention them”.

Councillors Adele Hegedich, Josh Gilligan, Mia Shaw, Jennie Barrera and Jasmine Hill voted in favour while Mayor Peter Maynard and councillors Heather Marcus, Susan McIntyre, Sahana Ramesh and Robert Szatkowski voted against.

A visibly-upset Ms Hill then proposed the passing motion calling for the allegations against her to be brought before council to “clear the air”.

“As a councillor I've always tried my best to be respectful and kind to my colleagues, council staff and community members,” she said.

“I would really like to know what allegations were made against me.”

She further stated the “majority” of Wyndham’s council members were named in the report.

During the tense debate, Mr Gilligan said he had no choice but to bring the motion before council after other avenues, including asking for intervention from Local Government Minister Melissa Horne and the Local Government Inspectorate, failed.

“This is the best and only remaining option for us to deal with this matter,” he said.

“The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. Staff working at Wyndham City Council have the right to come to work in a safe environment.”