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Former Bayside mayor found guilty of misconduct over development plans
By Max Maddison and Anthony Segaert
Former Bayside City mayor Bill Saravinovski has been found guilty of misconduct after a court found he berated council staff over the development of a car park where he failed to appropriately declare a conflict of interest with the proponent.
The until-now secret proceedings were disclosed in a judgment released by NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Thursday, with the court finding Saravinovski did not “fully disclose” his relationship with developer Al Ibrahim, who had a longstanding proposal to redevelop the council car park.
Bill Saravinovski, the former Bayside City Council mayor, has been found guilty of misconduct. Credit: Kate Geraghty
The proposal on The Boulevard in Brighton-Le-Sands, in Sydney’s south, was one of several submitted to the council in 2017 after an expression of interest process to address a parking shortfall. All were initially rejected, before Ibrahim’s proposal in 2021 was taken under consideration.
Ibrahim proposed the council change the maximum building height on the site from 28 metres to 75.6 metres, and more than double the floor space ratio, which would have transformed the rundown two-storey car park into 180 premium units. Council staff eventually dismissed the proposal.
The primary ground for the misconduct finding was Saravinovski’s failure to appropriately declare his relationship with Ibrahim. The then-mayor declared a less-than-significant pecuniary interest after he attended the developer’s engagement party, but failed to disclose five years of calls, texts and meetings.
“Saravinovski at that time had a conflict of interest … arising from his close personal relationship with Mr Ibrahim,” Judge Rashelle Seiden SC stated in her judgment.
In September 2018, Saravinovski attended a meeting with Ibrahim and senior council staff, including the director of planning, to discuss the developer’s proposal.
An investigation by the Herald confirmed councillors were told by Bayside’s general manager, Meredith Wallace, that the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) had probed the allegations. The Office of Local Government referred the matter to NCAT around August last year, this masthead first reported.
Saravinovski said he was unaware of the judgment when contacted by the Herald. He did not provide comments by the time of publication.
According to the judgment, Saravinovski “became angry” towards council staff and “swore” at the director of planning during the meeting, expressing anger at “alleged inaction” concerning the redevelopment and Ibrahim’s proposal. One year later, he yelled at two staff presenting information on the possible redevelopment.
During the meeting, Saravinovski became angry and yelled toward staff, because of concerns about how the proposal for the car park was being handled by them. He also inadvertently knocked a water bottle off the desk in the direction of the council staff.
Saravinovski, who served as a councillor from 1983, was dumped from Labor’s ticket ahead of the local government elections in September 2024. Sussex Street insiders said rumours of an issue with the longstanding councillor were the reason for his axing. He was replaced on the council by his son, Chris.
A spokesperson for Bayside Council said: “It is pleasing to see the matter has been determined by NCAT and the importance of a respectful relationship between council officers and elected officials reinforced by their determination.”
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