Zempilas forced to apologise over ‘blurred line’ between mayoral role, Liberal candidacy

Perth lord mayor-turned-Liberal candidate Basil Zempilas has been ordered to issue a public apology after using his council-linked social media profile to campaign for higher office, in breach of local government rules.

The order was handed down by the Local Government Standards Panel just hours before Zempilas’ campaign launch in Churchlands on Tuesday and obtained by WAtoday – a leak Zempilas intends to refer to the state’s Corruption and Crime Commission.

Perth lord mayor-turned-Liberal candidate Basil Zempilas.Credit: Cameron Myles

The panel directed the prominent media personality to make a formal apology at the next City of Perth council meeting after ruling he had committed a minor breach of the Local Government Act by improperly using his “Lord Mayor of Perth” Facebook page to advertise his Liberal candidacy.

The judgment leaked to this masthead made reference to a separate complaint received by the panel concerning the same conduct, which it concluded also warranted an apology.

One of the Facebook posts referred to the Local Government’s Standards Panel.

The panel found Zempilas failed to maintain a clear division between his status as lord mayor and as a Liberal candidate and party spokesperson by having both roles listed on his social media profile, which also constituted a breach of the city’s code of conduct.

Further, his profile contained a link to a website dedicated to his Liberal candidacy, which allowed visitors to register to volunteer and make donations to his political campaign.

Zempilas removed the “Lord Mayor of Perth” from his Facebook page handle on April 16, shortly after the complaint was made.

But the local government authority found the use of the page for both purposes was also an issue — arguing he should maintain separate profiles for each of his roles.

The panel concluded Zempilas had failed to act with integrity in not expressly separating his two roles and managing the conflict of interest.

“The panel therefore finds that it is more likely than not that it was the intent of Mayor Zempilas to attempt to gain an advantage by the relevant conduct,” the panel ruled.

But the panel deemed the breach to be at the lower end of seriousness, attributing it to a genuine misunderstanding on Zempilas’ part, for which he had shown remorse.

He also told the panel he took the responsibilities of his position as lord mayor seriously and prided himself on the leadership role for the city and the local government sector.

When contacted by this masthead, Zempilas claimed he had not yet received the final ruling and raised concerns about the motive of the individual behind the leak.

A Facebook post referred to the Local Government’s Standards Panel

“It is highly irregular and suspicious that you have been given this information before I have or had a chance to assess it,” he said.

“It raises serious questions about what is really at play here.

“This is a breach of the public sector management act and a breach of the Local Government Act, and it could be alleged under CCC legislation this breach of confidentiality from the public sector forms major misconduct.

“I will be reporting this to the CCC and I have phoned the director-general to ask for an explanation as to how this can have been allowed to occur.”

WAtoday understands the complaint was lodged in early 2024 by Naijiao “Jason” Bo, a former City of Perth candidate who ran alongside lord mayoral hopeful Sandy Anghie.

Bo declined to comment further when contacted by this masthead.

Zempilas is due to take a leave of absence from his lord mayoral role on Wednesday afternoon, having flagged his intention to temporarily cease his duties after the writs were issued.

The City of Perth will be required to publish the complaint and its findings on its online register.

The ruling comes just days after the Liberal Party was forced to walk back its decision to call an election fundraiser for Zempilas the “Lord Mayor’s Cup” over similar concerns.

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