NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley needs to take stronger stand against Salim Mehajer, local councillor says

SALIM Mehajer has been at the centre of a political storm for months. So why has one person in power not stepped in?

ONE of Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer’s fiercest critics has said NSW Labor leader Luke Foley, who is also the local MP for Auburn, needs to take a stronger stand against the controversial councillor.

Irene Simms, who is a Residents Action Group councillor said when it came to the actions of Mr Mehajer, Mr Foley had been “silent for far too long”.

He said local voters were “incensed” by the continuing focus on the councillor, whose lavish wedding in August, which featured helicopters and fast cars, made him into an overnight celebrity.

However, the Opposition Leader has said it was up to the government to take action.

The criticism comes amid revelations Auburn Council voted to sell a car park to a company controlled by the Mehajer family for far less than if it was sold on the open market.

Earlier this month, the council voted to sell the land, in Lidcombe, at an undisclosed price thought to be in the region of $8.5 million, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

However, Labor councillor George Campbell has said he informed the council that an international property valuer said the land could be worth up to $12 million.

Council had previously voted to sell the car park for even less but agreed to a revaluation which bumped up the price. Nevertheless, council did not choose to sell the site on the open market or seek multiple valuations. Mr Mehajer said he had agreed to pay the price set by an independent valuer.

Meanwhile, Mr Mehajer has hit back at charges levelled at him and seven others by the Australian Federal Police for alleged electoral fraud offences, saying there was a “hidden agenda” to bring him down. If convicted, Mr Mehajer could face up to 10 years imprisonment.

Local Government Minister Paul Toole said Mr Mehajer, who is an independent, should stand aside while he was being investigated. “The fraud charges are a matter for the courts and I would urge the councillor in question to consider his position and stand down while these serious matters are dealt with,” Mr Toole said.

Mr Foley, who has been the member for Auburn, in Sydney’s west, since last March’s state election, has commented little on the actions of Auburn councillors, many of whom have seen the valuation of properties they own within the area increase after decisions made by the council.

NSW Labor leader and Auburn MP Luke Foley, after casting his vote at Concord West Public School last March in the state elections. Picture: Cameron Richardson

In August, soon after the wedding, Mr Foley distanced himself from Mr Mehajer. “It is my policy not to involve myself in the affairs of Auburn Council,” he said. “And if a young bloke wants to lair it up at his wedding, who am I to take issue with it? Good luck to him,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

But, he has struck a different tone this week, calling on NSW Premier Mike Baird to put the council into administration.

“Every day I’m asked by locals why the government hasn’t sacked Auburn Council,” he told news.com.au.

“Toole is the minister — why is he inviting councillors to stand down rather than showing some leadership?”

Mr Foley, who has said he favoured banning property developers from serving as councillors, which would rob Mr Mehajer of his position, stopped short of naming him directly, preferring to widen the focus beyond the deputy mayor.

Mr Campbell said he welcomed Mr Foley’s demand that action shouldn’t be restricted to just one councillor. “With each new development in the Mehajer scandal, Mr Toole makes the same polite request and Councillor Mehajer ignores it. The government must now act to stop this farce.”

If available powers were inadequate, the Premier and Opposition Leader should work together to draft new laws, he said.

Auburn councillor Irene Simms said the Opposition Leader’s comments were too little, too late.

“He has been silent for far too long. This is his electorate, if he wants to stand up and be recognised, rather than being ‘Luke Who’, it’s time to take a stand,” she said.

“He needs to find out what the community is thinking and how incensed they are.”

Auburn councillor Irene Simms says it may take the courts to remove Mr Mehajer from his council position. Picture: Andrew Murray

Ms Simms, who has previously called Mr Mehajer “Mr Teflon” because “nothing sticks”, said the coating was now chipping away.

“I think the Teflon may be slowly but surely wearing off but may have a while to go,” she said.

“How much shame needs to be put on the council before Mehajer decides not to be there?

“If he won’t to do it for his own reasons, can he not do it to for the sake of Auburn Council and the community?”

Mr Mehajer, his sister Fatima, brother-in-law Jamal Elkheir and five others are due in court on February 2 to face charges of falsifying candidate information sheets. The charges relate to the 2012 Auburn Council elections where Mr Mehajer was elected. All are expected to deny the charges.

But Mr Mehajer said the case was weak. “If their case was strong they would not have let me sit a day on council since 2012. Why didn’t they act earlier?” he told The Daily Telegraph. “It’s full of hidden agendas to take me down.”

He said the allegations were ”false and misleading” and he would “remain focused” on his responsibilities.

On Friday, the NSW Government recommended carving Auburn Council up between two other local government areas as part of its “Fit for the Future” reforms, a proposal heavily criticised by Mr Mehajer. The deputy mayor has also been involved in a string of other legal battles ranging from traffic offences to allegations of unpaid debts on properties he has interest in.

Mr Mehajer has been contacted for comment.