MACEDON Ranges Shire Councillor and former mayor Dom Bonanno has been granted a six-month leave of absence following an October drink-driving incident that has sidelined him from public duties and prompted him to step back from leadership roles.
At the November council meeting, councillors endorsed Cr Bonanno’s request for personal leave through to May 2026, the duration of his six-month driving disqualification. The South Ward councillor, who did not attend the meeting, will forgo his full councillor allowance during the period.
The leave will also see Cr Bonanno and his family travel overseas, with the former mayor planning an extended trip to Europe during the first half of 2026. The journey will include time in Italy, fulfilling a long-standing promise to his seriously ill father to take his children back to their family’s origins.
The leave follows an incident on October 31, 2025, when Cr Bonanno was stopped by police in Gisborne South while driving the mayoral vehicle. He was found to be speeding and over the legal blood-alcohol limit. The offence resulted in an immediate loss of licence and a wave of public scrutiny.
Cr Bonanno stepped down as mayor and did not seek re-election to the position. He began personal leave almost immediately after the incident became public.
In a statement released shortly afterwards, he issued an unequivocal apology, saying he had let down his family, the council and the wider community.
Cr Bonanno is expected to resume his role as a councillor in May 2026.
