Tessa Sullivan makes ‘final statement’ on Robert Doyle matter

ONE of two councillors found to have been sexually harassed by former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has announced she is withdrawing from public life and looking forward to “healing” in private.

ONE of two councillors found to have been sexually harassed by former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has announced she is withdrawing from public life and looking forward to “healing” in private.

In her “final statement” posted to her Twitter account about 1am on this morning, Tessa Sullivan she hoped victims of assault would be “emboldened to come forward and stand up to bullies”.

COUNCIL REPORT: ADVERSE FINDINGS AGAINST ROBERT DOYLE

DOYLE CAMP IN DENIAL OVER EXPLOSIVE REPORT

TESSA SULLIVAN BREAKS HER SILENCE AFTER DOYLE ACCUSATIONS

The former councillor said she will shut down her Twitter account which she created on February 8 and posted more than 680 tweets on since.

Ms Sullivan said she had been “irreparably changed forever” since alleging former lord mayor Robert Doyle sexually assaulted her and thanked her friends and family for their support.

“I am deeply humbled by the incredible support that I have received these past eleven weeks,” she said.

“I am closing this Twitter account and look forward to healing and resuming private life,” she wrote.

CALL TO DITCH DOYLE’S MINI BAR

A MELBOURNE City councillor has called for the mini bar in the Lord Mayor’s office to go as a welfare agency urged the council to spend its alcohol budget on a CBD anti-violence program.

The report into sexual harassment claims against former lord mayor Robert Doyle highlighted his high consumption of red wine.

It also focused on boozy dinners held at Town Hall after Tuesday evening council meetings.

Former Team Doyle member Cr Nicholas Reece said he supported a review of the council’s alcohol policy but didn’t back a total ban on serving alcohol at Town Hall.

“There are hundreds, possibly even thousands of events held at the Town Hall every year, and the idea that it should go completely alcohol-free would be a step too far in my view,” he told the Herald Sun.

Cr Nicholas Reece is no fan of the lord mayoral mini bar.

The Salvation Army’s Major Brendan Nottle. Picture: Jason Sammon

“99 per cent of people enjoy alcohol in moderation and it’s a big part of socialising.”

But on the issue of the lord mayoral mini bar, Cr Reece said: “That’s straight out of the 1980s and probably should be one of the things that should be changed as part of the review.”

The Salvation Army’s Major Brendan Nottle said that all, or a big slice of the council’s alcohol budget should be diverted to a program fighting alcohol-fuelled violence in the inner city.

“The program helps transport young people home when they have been affected by alcohol and stay out of trouble, and also helps police by freeing them up to deal with crime,” he said.

“If this funding came through it could mean some good could come out of the very tragic situation that’s hit Town Hall.”

Speaking of the harassment report’s adverse findings against Mr Doyle, his chief accuser and former councillor Tessa Sullivan told ABC Radio yesterday that she felt “very pleased with this outcome, it is a huge vindication”.

Former lord mayor Robert Doyle and his chief accuser Tessa Sullivan.

Cr Reece revealed that Ms Sullivan had reached out to him shortly before resigning last December, and he advised her to seek legal advice.

“She was extremely distraught when she came to see me,” he said.

The former senior ALP official said Ms Sullivan’s situation highlighted the need for all employees to be more aware of the welfare of their colleagues.

“We are all so busy, I worry we’re not showing each other the duty of care that we should,” he said.

Cr Reece said that on many measures Cr Doyle was the city’s most successful lord mayor — “the fact that his career has ended as it has is very sad”.

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@JMasanauskas