Mayor suspended just six months after election denies he made staff feel unsafe

Whittlesea Mayor Aidan McLindon has remained defiant after he was suspended as a councillor on Wednesday following allegations of poor behaviour since his election just six months ago.

McLindon, a former Freedom Party candidate, called an extraordinary press conference outside Victorian parliament to blast Local Government Minister Nick Staikos’ decision to suspend him for six months and launch a commission of inquiry into Whittlesea Council.

Whittlesea Mayor Aidan McLindon speaks to the media on the steps of parliament house.Credit: Paul Rovere

The embattled mayor was banned from attending in-person council meetings last month after he was accused of intimidating behaviour, including aggressive questioning of staff over the establishment of a Rainbow Advisory Group for the LGBTQ community.

McLindon was also prohibited from contacting his fellow councillors, except by email, in a letter from Whittlesea CEO Craig Lloyd, which said staff had submitted psychological reports expressing fear and trauma at having to deal with him.

After two months in the job, McLindon also ignited local fury earlier this year by running in the state byelection in Werribee as an independent, winning an endorsement from Mick Gatto but polling only 270 votes.

He was later sensationally censured by all 10 other Whittlesea councillors, including a member of his team of candidates, which ran in every Whittlesea ward in last year’s local government elections.

On Wednesday afternoon, McLindon called his suspension “a very dark day for democracy in Victoria” and denied allegations he had made staff feel unsafe.

Instead, he said it was his policies on rate freezes, continuing to celebrate Australia Day and taking rainbow flags out of childcare centres that made his position untenable.

He also called for a royal commission into local government.

“Ever since I said something that most people are thinking, but nobody’s had the guts or courage to say, I have had a machine – a political machine from both the Labor Party and the pride movement – undermine everything that I’ve done as mayor,” he said.

Whittlesea Mayor Aidan McLindon.Credit: Paul Rovere

“I have not had an argument with anybody in the building at the City of Whittlesea, yet I have been smeared and slandered against to say that I have been aggressive and that I have been a bully.

“I’d be lucky to know 10 staff in that building, and I am collegial with every single one of them.”

Despite facing calls from his fellow councillors to resign, McLindon said he had no intention of doing so and was investigating an appeal.

The City of Whittlesea said on Wednesday afternoon that a new mayor would be selected within one month, as per the Local Government Act.

City of Whittlesea’s deputy mayor, Daniela Zinni, and mayor, Aidan McLindon, in November 2024.Credit: City of Whittlesea

At a meeting on February 18, other Whittlesea councillors voted unanimously to call for McLindon’s resignation after a public petition urged him to resign. McLindon was not present for the vote due to a conflict of interest.

On February 4, councillors wrote to the local government minister, urging Staikos to initiate an independent investigation into misconduct allegations.

During his suspension, McLindon will not be permitted to perform any of the functions or duties of a councillor or mayor, including attending council meetings, delegated committees or attending council premises.

Staikos said he was satisfied the step was necessary to “protect the health and safety” of Whittlesea councillors and staff.

An independent inquiry will also investigate “serious issues of governance and health and safety concerns” that have plagued the council since the October local government elections.

When asked if he might face the sack following the state government inquiry, McLindon said he did not know or care.

“They’ve demonstrated to us that some of these people in here are a law upon themselves. It will be Caesar judging Caesar,” he said. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Whittlesea Mayor Aidan McLindon on Wednesday.Credit: Paul Rovere

In a statement, Whittlesea Council said it “welcomes any process that seeks to further strengthen good governance and support the safety and wellbeing of the council and staff”.

In November 2024, municipal monitors were appointed to oversee Whittlesea after the previous council was sacked in 2020.

A commission of inquiry is a rare step above the appointment of municipal monitors and examines serious governance concerns.

The last such inquiry was initiated in 2022, when the Moira Shire Council in northern Victoria was investigated following the murder of a council worker in 2021.

The damning final report led to the entire council being sacked and the local government put into administration for five years.

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