Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer victory comes at a cost

The NSW Supreme Court has set aside a ruling by the state government to suspend Salim Mehajer as a councillor.

Salim Mehajer

Sydney’s most notorious deputy mayor, Salim Mehajer, has had a Pyrrhic victory after the NSW Supreme Court set aside a ruling by the state government to ­suspend him as an Auburn City councillor for four months.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled late last month that Mr Mehajer must stand down over his failure to declare­ his interest in a property when council was discussing re-zonings­ that would have deliv­ered him a substantial windfall.

Mr Mehajer failed to disclose his ownership of 3 Mary Street, Auburn, in Sydney’s west, when he joined a majority of councillors in approving higher-density zonings for an area that included his dwelling.

The council later received a report from an independent valuer showing Mr Mehajer stood to gain about $1 million from the rezoning given a substantially higher building could be developed at 3 Mary Street than would have been allowed previously.

Mr Mehajer brought the ­action at a personal cost of tens of thousands of dollars, having appointed a barrister and legal team, on February 3.

His victory, and the money he spent fighting to remain on the council, has meant little, however, because Mr Mehajer and all nine other Auburn councillors were suspended indefinitely on February 10 ahead of a public ­inquiry into alleged corruption at the council.

Judge Peter Garling set aside the tribunal ruling over a tech­nic­ality regarding to laws on “permissible use of land” and whether 3 Mary Street had seen a change to its permissible use after the broader rezonings.

Justice Garling rejected Mr Mehajer’s claims that he had not breached the Local Government Act in failing to disclose the conflict.

And he said that the tribunal was mistaken in the way it had handled its case.

A spokesman for NSW Local Government Minister Paul Toole said the decision did not affect moves to suspend the council this month.