By Stephen Brook
And so to the basement tier of democracy, otherwise known as local government.
And a situation going down at Merri-bek where Councillor James Conlan was set to be banished from his council post for a month without his allowance after an independent arbiter found he had breached standards of conduct under the Local Government Act 2020.
Merri-Bek councillor James Conlan has resigned.Credit: Justin McManus
Quite the naughty step, we feel.
And why? Because of the single word “shameful” Conlan used in a social media post.
“Instead of legitimising this undemocratic process, I have just resigned from my council position.”
James Conlan
Yup, it’s true, we checked.
Councillors who breach their suspension and perform council duties (which can include giving speeches and posting on socials) can face further punishment, including up to 12 months in prison. This all feels a bit Stasiland to us.
Anyway, Conlan has had enough and quit on Wednesday just ahead of a regular council meeting.
“Instead of legitimising this undemocratic process, I have just resigned from my council position,” he told CBD.
He said the whole independent arbitration process was secret (again with the threat of heavy penalties) until the decision was announced.
“It’s an extraordinary regime reminiscent of North Korea, not a so-called democracy,” Conlan told us.
It was back in March that the inner-north Melbourne council passed a motion in solidarity with Gaza. It called on council to cease trading with companies profiting from arms sales, to continue flying the Palestinian flag and to create a $10,000 support fund for local Palestinian asylum seekers. As far as we can tell, the motion failed to gain any traction in the United Nations General Assembly.
But Conlan’s social media post to his supporters reporting on the vote created major waves.
“Councillors who voted in favour were myself, Cr Bolton, Adam Pulford, Cr Angelica Panopoulos, Mark Riley and Yildiz (he’s blocked me so I can’t tag him),” he wrote.
But then he controversially added the following:
“Shamefully, numerous councillors left the meeting during the Palestine item to avoid voting, including Cr Lambros Tapinos (ALP), Cr Annalivia Carli Hannan (ALP), and Helen Davidson (Ind).”
Davidson complained about the use of “shamefully”, alleging that it was a “personal attack” which questioned the integrity of the councillors.
Independent arbiter Jo-Anne Mazzeo appointed to investigate the complaint basically agreed.
“The post clearly demonstrates a failure to treat the named councillors with dignity, fairness, objectivity and respect and the Arbiter was unable to conclude that the post, and in particular the use of the phrase “shamefully” could be read or interpreted as anything other than disrespectful towards the named councillors,” Mazzeo said in a report published in council agenda documents.
The arbiter accepted Davidson’s submission that the social media post was misleading to state that councillors “shamefully” left the meeting.
“I didn’t bully, harass, or intimidate the councillors who abstained from voting.”
James Conlan
“Leaving a meeting should not be referred to in the manner it was in the social media post, which implies it was an inappropriate course of action by the named councillors,” she wrote.
In a text before Conlan’s resignation, Davidson told CBD the arbiter’s decision was a fair decision.
“I needed to stand up and take the misconduct seriously. I nor anyone else who serves our community on council should be made to feel unsafe by our fellow councillors.”
Conlan, speaking from an overseas holiday, said his post was a factual report.
“I didn’t bully, harass, or intimidate the councillors who abstained from voting. The ‘crime’ that I really committed was to embarrass those councillors by bringing attention to the fact that they didn’t vote on one of the most important and publicly scrutinised issues of this council term – the genocide of Palestine.
“But instead of engaging in a robust, public dialogue on the issue of Palestine with my fellow councillors, I’ve been dragged through a secretive, repressive and undemocratic litigation process.”
James Conlan said he didn’t bully or intimidate councillors who abstained from voting.Credit: Joe Armao
Conlan had previously flagged his intention not to stand for re-election in October.
Merri-bek Council said Conlan’s resignation was effective immediately.
“The minister for local government and the Victorian Electoral Commission have been advised,” it said in a statement.
“As Mr Conlan is no longer a councillor, the suspension determined by the Arbiter (due to start 15 August) cannot apply.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.