Bizarre scenes at Burnside as councillors walk out on debate over ‘psychological unsafe’ culture

The eastern suburbs council was due to debate claims it had a “psychologically unsafe” culture before an extraordinary move sparked an unexpected move on Thursday.

A handful of Burnside councillors have sabotaged a special meeting to discuss whether to release in full a damning culture report that found the council to be “psychologically unsafe”.

The item was to be discussed ahead of the full council meeting on Tuesday night, but quorum collapsed when one councillor refused to take his chair and four others walked out.

Only the findings of the report have so far been released by the council, which found it to be “dysfunctional” and in “urgent need of intervention” to improve its culture and operations.

The findings also detailed a small group of council members were largely responsible for the incivility in the chamber, at workshops and towards council staff.

Mayor Anne Monceaux (C), with all Burnside councillors. Picture: City of Burnside

On Tuesday, only five councillors were ready to proceed with the special meeting, while five others entered the chamber half an hour later when the full meeting was scheduled to start.

Councillors Jo Harvey, Jane Davey, Harvey Jones and Jennifer Turnbull then walked out when Mayor Anne Monceaux tried to start the meeting declaring a quorum to discuss the report.

Cr Davey can be heard on the audio telling the meeting “no, we don’t”.

Cr Mike Daws remained in the chamber but refused to sit in his chair, which effectively squashed quorum and adjourned the special meeting until August 19.

The Advertiser asked Cr Daws why he refused to participate in the meeting, he said it was because a “very good summary” of the report had already been provided by the council.

The Advertiser contacted Cr Turnbull, who refused to comment, while councillor’s Jones, Davey and Harvey did not respond.

All councillors were interviewed for the report, which was prompted by concerns about the council’s culture and personal animosity among its members.

The report findings stated the council had a culture of complaints and legal action.

The external consultant found the council must take “urgent action” to ensure the safety of all members and staff and made 10 recommendations to prevent further dysfunction within the chamber.

These included all code of conduct complaints be outsourced, limiting face-to-face interaction between councillors by stopping meals before meetings and conducting workshops online.

While the report stated not acting on the findings “should not be an option” – they were yet to be endorsed by the council.

The consultant warned the council that uncontrolled behaviour was having a “serious and substantial impact on the psychological health and wellbeing on council members”.

Originally published as Bizarre scenes at Burnside as councillors walk out on debate over ‘psychological unsafe’ culture