Cr Amye Un: Darwin CEO writes letter amid lack of action following panel’s orders

Darwin’s ‘Laksa Queen’ has been ordered by a panel to undertake seven rounds of training, two mediation processes, and three written apologies, all of which she intends on disregarding.

Councillor Amye Un has failed to complete any of the remedial actions ordered by panels examining her Code of Conduct complaints. Picture: File

Frustrations are mounting at the City of Darwin over an errant councillor who continues to rack up behavioural breaches and refuses to perform the mandated actions such as undergoing training.

According to council documents, Councillor Amye Un, the Darwin ‘Laksa Queen’ who was elected in 2021, has racked up nine Code of Conduct breaches in the past eight months.

As a result, Ms Un has been ordered by the Code of Conduct panel to undergo training, issue written apologies and enter into mediation.

But to the council’s growing frustration, Ms Un is yet to adhere to any of the rulings.

According to publicly available council documents, Ms Un is yet to undertake seven rounds of training, two mediation processes, and three written apologies.

Ms Un told this masthead her council is set to be disappointed as she does not plan on completing any of them.

“You know who is allowed to punish me? My community. They’re my boss.” Ms Un said.

“They want me to apologise so they can use the letter against me.

“Why do I have to go to training? This is not my issue”.

Ms Un claimed her only crime was to criticise a $100,000 grant given to former councillor Paul Arnold, suggesting in a social media post that she ought to befriend then Small Business Minister Paul Kirby to get a slice of the pie.

The complaints against Ms Un have been brought primarily by council staff such as chief executive Simone Saunders, chief financial officer Steve Thacker, and risk management co-ordinator Brooke Prince.

Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis and Mr Arnold have also brought successful complaints.

Ms Un has been found to have been discourteous, displayed inappropriate conduct towards staff, and engaged in bullying, among other breaches.

Chief executive Simone Saunders. Pic: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

On April 15, Ms Saunders, the council CEO, wrote to Ms Un “providing a summary of the actions to be undertaken, including apologies and training recommendations, seeking advice as to the status and to assist with information”.

“No response has been received from Councillor Amye Un as at time of writing,” the council documents state.

The council declined to provide a copy of the letter Ms Saunders sent to Ms Un when asked by this masthead.

The Local Government Act 2019 provides a mechanism for Code of Conduct complainants to escalate the matter to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal “to deal with” situations where a respondent does not comply with their sanctions.

However, it is not clear whether any of Ms Un’s nine complainants feel strongly enough to launch proceedings.

Ms Un has been a lightning rod for controversy at the council since she called into question the grant provided to Mr Arnold – who is currently fighting domestic violence allegations in court.

Mr Arnold went on to seek a personal violence restraining order against Ms Un, which has since been withdrawn.

Separately, Ms Un was issued a trespass notice by the council banning her from attending meetings for one year, which continues to be in force.

Ms Un, who is running as an independent for Fong Lim in the upcoming Territory general election, is fulfilling her council obligations via videolink.