Barossa councillor Bruce Preece refuses to resign after complaints about his behaviour

He allegedly turned his back on a smoking ceremony and used a homophobic slur, but a controversial regional councillor says he won’t stand down.

A regional councillor and former political candidate facing calls to resign after a series of complaints about his behaviour is refusing to step down and says his opponents “are dreaming”.

Elected members at Barossa Council have asked fellow councillor Bruce Preece to step down after he was accused of walking out of acknowledgement of country recognitions and turning his back at a smoking ceremony.

Mr Preece was also alleged to have used the term “p*****r” during a conversation after Port Adelaide AFL star Jeremy Finlayson was found guilty of using a homophobic slur in an AFL match.

An investigation into six complaints about Mr Preece, between December, 2022 and April, 2024, cost ratepayers $47,000, according to council documents.

Barossa councillor Bruce Preece is facing calls to resign.

The complaints come more than a decade after Mr Preece was embroiled in several code of conduct disputes during his time as an elected member in the metropolitan council of Prospect. Investigations into the Prospect complaints cost that council $60,000.

The Barossa complaints include allegations Mr Preece repeatedly walked out of the council chamber during acknowledgement of country and turned his back on a smoking ceremony at Tanunda Show Hall on Australia Day, 2024.

Mr Preece’s fellow councillors also found he had breached his obligations by announcing in a local newspaper, before speaking with other councillors, he would ask the council to cease acknowledgement of country recognitions at meetings.

Other complaints centred around allegations Mr Preece:

INTIMIDATED and “tried to bully” council workers who were changing irrigation valves in March, 2024 and tidying a garden area about 12 months earlier. The complainant said Mr Preece made comments including “you guys have finally found something to do” and “you’re not meant to be parked on the footpath”.

Bruce Preece allegedly turned his back on a smoking ceremony.

MOCKED or mimicked a fellow councillor Jess Greatwich on April 3, 2024 after she had mentioned she had met with Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison earlier that day.

COMMENTED loudly at the opening of Tanunda Recreation Park in March, 2024 “so this is where we have wasted the ratepayers’ money”.

RAISED his voice to say he was “sick of society telling him what he could and couldn’t say” and that he should be able to “call someone a poofter” if he wanted to while representing the council at a Gawler River Flood Management Authority meeting at Kersbrook on April 18, 2024.

The council engaged law firm Kelledy Jones to investigate the complaints. Mr Preece excused himself from the latest meeting as his fellow councillors agreed with findings he had breached behavioural standards and voted he be reprimanded for his actions, asked to step down as an elected member and issue public apologies.

He told The Advertiser he had no plans to step down and would appeal the outcome to the state ombudsman.

“Tell them they’re dreaming,” Mr Preece said when asked if he would step down.

Barossa Mayor Bim Lange. Image/Russell Millard Photography

Mayor Bim Lange said Mr Preece’s actions were “extremely serious and totally inappropriate”.

“I just hope the councillor understands the seriousness of it and accepts that the behaviour was not acceptable and we move on,” Mr Lange said.

Mr Preece left Prospect council in 2014 after being accused of “aggressive and threatening” behaviour towards citizen of the year Lindy Nelson.

He ran for the National Party in the 2022 State Election in the Barossa seat of Schubert but received the smallest first preference vote percentage of seven candidates. The seat was won by the Liberal Party’s Ashton Hurn.

Originally published as Barossa councillor Bruce Preece refuses to resign after complaints about his behaviour