Former Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle ‘sexually improper’

A report into former Melbourne mayor Robert Doyle’s ‘sexually inappropriate’ behaviour has been released.

Former Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle. Picture: AAP

A report into former Melbourne mayor Robert Doyle’s “sexually inappropriate” behaviour has been released after being kept ­secret by the council while waiting for Victoria Police to rule out charges over his conduct.

Barrister Ian Freckelton QC found Mr Doyle behaved in a “sexually inappropriate” way towards Kharla Williams at a Melbourne Health event in 2016 while she was seated next to her then fiancee.

Dr Freckelton found Mr Doyle spoke to Ms Williams in a “sleazy” way, placed his hand on her back near her bottom and placed his hand on her left inner leg, near her groin, several times.

“There was no justification whatsoever for Mr Doyle’s behaviour,” he wrote in the report for the city council.

“It was completely inappropriate and there was no contextual legitimacy for it.”

Mr Doyle refused to be interviewed for the investigation and his legal team asserted that the allegations raised by Ms Williams did not fall within the terms of reference.

He also claimed to be unable to take part in the investigation because of ill health.

Dr Freckelton found Mr Doyle’s health did not preclude him providing an account of events. He said Mr Doyle had been extended full natural justice and procedural fairness.

Mr Doyle resigned in early 2018 following claims of sexual harassment by then councillor Tessa Sullivan.

In the section of his report released previously, Dr Freckelton upheld complaints by Greens councillor Cathy Oke and Ms Sullivan, including that in 2017 Mr Doyle touched Ms Sullivan’s breast in the mayoral car.

Findings related to Ms Oke included Mr Doyle had inappropriately touched her on the thigh during a dinner in December 2014.

Mr Doyle has consistently denied the allegations.

In the newly released section of the report, Dr Freckelton found Ms Williams’s account to be credible. “It was opportunistic and occurred in circumstances of significant power imbalance between Mr Doyle and Ms Williams,” he said.

“(His) conduct was foresee­ably highly distressing and fundamentally inconsistent with the dignity of the office of lord mayor and the reasonable expectations of the public as to how a lord mayor should behave.”

Council chief executive Justin Hanney said Ms Williams and the other women had shown “great courage”.

He said the council had implemented a new code of conduct for councillors and policies and protocols to report sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour, and in relation to ­alcohol consumption.