Monash mayor pushes for strange new rule at meetings

A MELBOURNE mayor wants to treat his councillors like children and is pushing for a strange new rule to be in place at future meetings.

Monash mayor Geoff Lake tells councillors to put hands on heads.

MONASH Councillors will have to put their hands on their head to speak if the mayor, who has labelled his colleagues “children”, gets his way.

Cr Geoff Lake will put forward a new Councillor Code of Conduct and supplementary standing orders forcing councillors to put both hands on their head for a point of order and one hand on their head for a procedural motion.

“If you behave like children you have got to expect you will be treated like children,” he said.

“For a more orderly (meeting) process, I’m unapologetic about it.”

Cr Lake said two councillors, who he refused to name, had been making Points of Order and moving Procedural Motions in a “disruptive, combative and aggressive way”.

“This way councillors will remain in their seats and I can guide them through the process (to make a point of order or a procedural motion),” he said.

A procedural motion suggests the proceedings are not in keeping with rules, while a point of order may be taken against something done or said in the chamber.

Ratepayers Association of Victoria president and Oakleigh resident, Jack Davis, said the proposal was “absolutely ridiculous”.

“This is absolutely stupid. It should be thrown out the door,” Mr Davis said.

Cr Lake also wants a former mayor and member of Liberal Party, Russell Hannan, to monitor the open monthly meetings for five months — at a cost of up to $10,000.

He said it was a “a minor sum” for Mr Hannan to publicly report on the meetings to avoid suggestions of political bias from the chair or the council.

Municipal Association of Victoria president Cr Bill McArthur said Monash seemed to “go a little further” than was required of councils to improve their codes.

Councillors will vote on the proposals on Tuesday, May 31.