Josh Gilligan, Sahana Ramesh: Arbiter urges Wyndham council to settle ‘minor’ disputes

An independent arbiter has blasted Wyndham’s elected leaders, asking them to “think about the expense to ratepayers” after infighting led to two complaints filed against a “vocal” councillor.

An independent arbiter has urged Wyndham’s councillors to “think about the expense to ratepayers” as internal conflict on the council led to a costly arbitration process.

Arbiter Dr Libby O’Neill was called in to mediate and make findings on two complaints against councillor Josh Gilligan by his colleague Sahana Ramesh.

Ms Ramesh filed the two complaints on March 3, alleging Mr Gilligan had breached Wyndham’s Councillor Code of Conduct, specifically rules concerning the treatment of others, in an email chain with a resident and other councillors.

The first complaint related to Mr Gilligan’s message directed towards the unnamed female resident, who had contacted councillors with comments on Council’s proposal to update governance rules.

In the email he referenced a court case of a man who defrauded Centrelink to the tune of $73,000 and her role providing a character reference on his behalf.

Wyndham Council councillor Josh Gilligan. Picture: Wyndham City.

Ms Ramesh admitted during the arbitration process to having a “personal relationship” with the resident, who said the email was “upsetting” and felt like a “personal attack”.

Giving evidence at a hearing on the matter, Mr Gilligan said he had endured “years of abuse” from the resident, providing screenshots of “defamatory” social media posts by the woman.

“It is a bit ironic that someone would reference a character assassination when I have gone through one for some years,” he said of the resident’s complaint.

Dr O’Neill found Mr Gilligan had breached the treatment of others standard by not treating her with “dignity, fairness, objectivity, courtesy and respect”.

“I think that the very significant history of attacks made by [the resident] on Cr Gilligan’s character gives relevant context to his email,” she said.

“I therefore do not think it appropriate that he be sanctioned in this instance.”

In the second complaint, Ms Ramesh alleged Mr Gilligan had breached the same standards in a comment made to her within the same email thread.

In the email he wrote; “I won’t be lectured to by someone who engaged in a coup for her own personal gain and divided a council right after she was accidentally elected at the top of the ballot in the ward.”

Mr Gilligan told Dr O’Neill the comment was made after a “cheeky” response by his colleague, instructing him to “listen” to Wyndham’s residents.

Ms Ramesh said the comment was designed to “deliberately negate” her election campaign and the residents that voted for her.

“His attempt to justify my results shows a material lack of appreciation for the significant South Asian migrant community present in Harrison Ward that I know provided a solid base for my election results,” she said.

She further claimed Mr Gilligan’s actions were sexist and racist, however Dr O’Neill said she was not persuaded of this as no evidence was brought forward to support it.

Dr O’Neill found that the correspondence did not breach any of the relevant standards of conduct.

“I think that Cr Gilligan skirts the boundaries of good manners in his email correspondence,” she said.

“I highly recommend he reflect on this and alter his email behaviour accordingly.”

She said she believed these “minor” complaints should not have reached the point of requiring arbitration.

“From the many witnesses I heard from, it was apparent that there appear to be many complaints about behaviour between the current cohort group of councillors,” she said.

“I implore councillors to think about the expense to ratepayers, as well as the time of council staff, before bringing any more applications in relation to matters such as these.”

The cost to ratepayers for arbitration is expected to cost about $3,500 to $4,000.

No disciplinary action was taken against Mr Gilligan.

Mr Gilligan welcomed the decision as the arbiters report came before Wyndham Council on August 23, saying he was “grateful” the report was made available for public consumption.

“This report, in some respects, speaks truth to power and I am incredibly grateful for what has been a very measured independent assessment of the facts,” he said.

“I look foward to moving on.”