CITY of Whittlesea councillor, and former Mayor Aidan McLindon has had an order to suspend him from council for six months ruled invalid by the Supreme Court last Tuesday.
The suspension was enforced in April, which acted on a report made by Whittlesea municipal monitors Jude Munro and Peita Duncan, and enforced by former local government minister Nick Staikos.
The ruling that the suspension was invalid came about as Cr McLindon was ruled to have not been given procedural fairness.
“In summary, Mr McLindon was not afforded procedural fairness by the Monitors in the preparation of the Monitor’s Report because, in contravention of the obligations imposed upon them by s 181C(1) of the Act, they did not provide him with any, or any sufficient, details of the following proposed findings and an opportunity to respond to same,” the court documents read.
“(a) Mr McLindon’s request of the Monitors to be told the names of employees who had made complaints against him as demonstrating his ‘capacity to target individuals through seeking names of those who have formally reported health and safety concerns’;
“(b) the ‘targeting and addressing’ of comments by Mr McLindon to a councillor who is a First Nations person which were ‘most hurtful and distressing to the Councillor’; and
“(c) the making of public statements by Mr McLindon regarded by employees of the Council who are members of the First Nations team and the Pride network, as racist, homophobic and/or transphobic.”
The court found it was ‘necessary’ to take into account the invalidation of the Monitor’s report.
“It is necessary to consider whether the Monitors’ failure to comply with s 181C(1) of the Act had the effect of invalidating the Monitor’s Report, with the consequence that there was no valid report before the Minister, as required by s 229A(2)(a) of the Act, and therefore no basis upon which the Minister could recommend Mr McLindon’s suspension to the Governor in Council,” court documents read.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Cr McLindon said he would seek further accountability and reform.
“This judgment raises serious questions about the way local government oversight is operating in Victoria, and whether elected councillors and mayors are being given the procedural fairness, transparency and accountability that every Victorian should expect,” he said.
“In my view, the local government sector is in urgent need of legislative reform. Elected representatives must be able to do the job voters elected them to do, speak on policy matters, and represent their communities without fear of unfair process or political overreach.
“I have always accepted that public office comes with scrutiny. But scrutiny must be fair, lawful and transparent. It must not be used in a way that undermines democracy, silences elected representatives, or denies communities the representation they voted for.
“The events surrounding my suspension have caused enormous personal, professional and emotional strain on me and on my loved ones. That toll has been very real.
“There are now serious accountability questions to be answered about the process that led to this decision. I will consider all lawful options available to me, including further steps to pursue accountability, transparency and reform.
“This is an important moment for democracy in Victoria, but it is not the end of the road. There is still a long way to go to restore confidence in local government and protect the rights of elected representatives and the people who vote for them.”