Thursday, 28 August 2025

Kingston City Council

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (23:21): (1898) My adjournment for the Minister for Local Government requests that the minister immediately withdraw monitors from the Kingston City Council. Integrity is always doing the right thing, even when no-one is watching. Sadly, this minister and his recent predecessors have perfected an art form of covertly weaponising their local government portfolio for political purposes: arbitrations, conduct panels, commissions of inquiry and monitors – all to shut down dissent and seize control of councils that refuse to toe the Labor Party line. Having previously dealt with this council in my capacity as shadow minister, it appears well run and to not require the minister’s so-called assistance. After all, the sitting mayor is serving her third term and the CEO has maintained a good reputation in the sector over several years. Their crime is opposing cost shifting, inappropriate development and what constitutes insufficient infrastructure. But that is what their ratepayers want, having changed the political make-up of the council at the last election.

The circumstances around this intervention are totally dubious. Guess whose electorate overlaps with Kingston? The minister’s. Guess whose cousin and current Labor state secretary was the former four-time mayor of Kingston? The minister’s. And guess who will be paying for this exercise? His ratepayers. Clearly the minister is consolidating his power locally and that of his party by undermining those councillors who are not in his Socialist Left factional grouping.

In an article from April 2025 by Mornington Peninsula News titled ‘Bullying allegations aired in council meeting’ it was reported that council referred for investigation to the Local Government Inspectorate a grant that was handed out to the Druze Community Charity of Victoria. Labor councillor Hadi Saab was reportedly on its committee at the time but reportedly recused himself from the June 2024 vote. In relation to this referral he is quoted as saying:

… the discharging of our governance responsibilities in this way is a surefire way of ensuring monitors are appointed to oversee this council …

Ensuring monitors: how ominous, how convenient, especially when the minister’s own cousin was accused of alleged bullying during the last term of council. Ratepayers are wondering if this referral is one of the poor excuses this minister is relying on. So, Minister, I call on you to do the following: publicly name every council or council officer that requested the –

The PRESIDENT: Time has expired.