THE City of Whittlesea will now look to move into 2026 refreshed after putting a turbulent 2025 behind it at the last council meeting of the year.
The recent meeting’s agenda contained documents from the internal arbitration process for the Council stemming from allegations put toward former Mayor Councillor Aidan McLindon in March through current Mayor Councillor Lawrie Cox and fellow Councillors Blair Colwell and David Lenberg.
Cr McLindon faced four separate internal arbitration processes, including multiple allegations within the processes. Two were proven, but a host of other allegations were dismissed.
One of these allegations concerned comments Cr McLindon made on the Sky News program “Outsiders” on January 26 which could be interpreted from his experiences at the City of Whittlesea, which was judged to be proven.
Another allegation which was adjudged to be proven was that Cr McLindon had breached clause 2(1)(a) of the Model Code, failing to treat his colleagues with courtesy and respect by engaging in threatening behaviour.
It was ruled that Cr McLindon had engaged in misconduct under sub-section 147(1) of the Local Government Act 2020, despite the large proportions of allegations levelled against him thrown out.
One of the results of the findings was that Cr McLindon had to make an apology at the council meeting, which he completed last Tuesday night.
“On Sky News on January 26, 2025, I made a statement that councillors in Victoria have ‘just got enough time to read what’s put in front of them’ and to rubber-stamp it. I accept that this comment would be understood as reflecting on how Whittlesea City Council operates,” he said.
“I did not intend to suggest that this was my personal experience as a Whittlesea councillor, or that Council staff were not giving me enough time to consider Council papers.
“I wish to apologise to Council staff for my remarks, and hope that apology will be accepted.”
Cr McLindon will now also undertake training and counselling from an external source nominated by Cr Cox, which will be completed in April 2026.
Cr McLindon has also been ruled ineligible to hold the office of Mayor at Whittlesea for 12 months from the date of the findings, and while he received a one-month suspension, it had been served concurrently with his earlier six-month suspension this year.
Meantime, at Council’s meeting last Tuesday night, there was also an update to the Council’s governance rules, which had been last updated in June 2024.
New changes to the rules include Notices of Motion requiring three councillors to sign it prior to submitting it to the CEO, a councillor not being the signatory for more than two Notices of Motion at one meeting, increased speaking times for councillors speaking to a motion and officers introducing a report, clarification around a councillor having a right of reply and clarification surrounding lodgement of electronic petitions and joint letters.
The changes came about from community consultation from 57 responses from November 19 to December 2, with 14 of the responses identical.
Council, as a result, considered the feedback in adopting these new rules.
Cr Cox thanked the community for its feedback.
“The amendments to the governance rules were developed in response to the recent Commission of Inquiry report into the City of Whittlesea and other council monitor recommendations and we are committed to ensuring that our Rules represent good governance practices,” he said.
“We thank the community for taking the time to review the proposed changes and sharing their views. We have carefully considered all of the feedback received, and feel that by adopting changes, it will promote collaboration, improve transparency and ensure efficient decision-making of Council.”
