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Council arbitration matter thrown out

Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au

ANOTHER arbitration matter between Kingston councillors has been thrown out, with the arbiter calling the latest application “vexatious”.

Cr Hadi Saab applied for arbitration seeking a finding of misconduct against the mayor, Cr Georgina Oxley. The outcome was published last week, with the arbiter deciding to not uphold the misconduct allegation. The outcome of three arbitration mat-

ters between Kingston councillors have been published this year. Cr Jane Agirtan made an application against Cr Saab, Crs Oxley and Sarah O’Donnell made an application against Cr Saab, and most recently Cr Saab made an application against Cr Oxley. Each application was dismissed without a finding of misconduct.

In the most recent application, Cr Saab alleged that Cr Oxley had published a “misleading” Facebook post in December last year about the continued presence of monitors at Kingston Council. The arbiter ruled against Cr Saab, claiming that

he had not followed the established process for conflict resolution.

The arbiter wrote that Cr Oxley “alleged that the applicant [Cr Saab] failed to meaningfully initiate or participate in the staged internal dispute resolution process contained in Kingston Council’s Councillor Internal Resolution Procedure.”

“What is missing from the applicant’s approach in this case is any meaningful attempt to specifically undertake the completion of any of the steps within the procedure. Discussion, conciliation and mediation provide the respondent with

an important opportunity to understand the nature of the concerns being raised and to engage and respond before formal proceedings are commenced,” the arbiter wrote. “The fact that the applicant was engaged in the internal dispute resolution process on another application concurrently demonstrates that council dysfunction was not the blocker it was purported to be.

“With the applicant making no genuine effort to engage in the process, it demonstrates he had no intention of resolving the dispute.”

The arbiter wrote that the application

was “vexatious” because it was “based upon incomplete and misleading information, and represents a tokenistic approach to internal resolution and an abuse of the arbitration process; a process that is intended to be invoked as a last resort, only after reasonable attempts at internal resolution have been exhausted.” Kingston Council is currently being overseen by two state government-appointed monitors, whose terms are scheduled to conclude on 30 June. Their stay at council was extended by six months last December.

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THE Force was strong with Chelsea SES last week, as their members were treated to a visit from the 501st Legion Knightfall Garrison costumers. The group regularly dresses up as characters from the iconic Star Wars film franchise to cheer up those doing it tough. See story page 2.

Pictures: Gary Sissons - picsales.au

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NEWS DESK

SES celebrates sci-fi partnership

CHELSEA SES members were joined in orange by X-Wing pilots during a Star Wars-inspired training day last week.

The 501st Legion Knightfall Garrison visited the SES unit last week, complete with X-Wing pilots, stormtroopers, and Kylo Ren.

A statement from Chelsea SES read that the unit “has had a long

Foundation Car Show event held at Bicentennial Park, and with that in mind, the invitation to join the SES members for training went out.”

“It was such a fantastic night, and Chelsea Deputy Controller for Training, Cameron, was in his element, arriving in Star Wars Orange, instead of his usual SES Orange. The Garrison members joined in

WHAT’S NEW....

our members,” the SES said. “This gallant band give so much of their time, so generously, to charity, and bringing enjoyment to so many through their visits to hospitals and through charities like the Isabella and Marcus Foundation and The Variety Club.

“In a way, all of us do a similar job, we try to help our communities where we can, we just wear differ

Crime is off the rails in Victoria

By Ann-Marie Hermans*

SOME of us catch public transport for a footy game or a night out. For many others, it’s an essential part of our daily commute.

But what do we do when the buses and trains we depend on are no longer safe?

Crime on public transport hit a 10-year high with criminal offences rising by 13 per cent in just the last year according to the latest data from the independent Crime Statistics Agency.

You may be tempted to brush this off and say that this only happens in the city. Unfortunately, you would be very wrong.

Since Jacinta Allan became Premier in September 2023, crime on public transport locations has jumped by 20 per cent in Frankston.

But this is more than just numbers.

(000).

Earlier this year, a local contacted me about a terrifying experience, involving an assault on a bus which resulted in a head injury.

The reality is that I hear these kinds of stories all the time now.

At recent local crime forums, it became apparent that nearly half of the crimes befalling are currently not being reported as people feel it is futile to contact police. However, police have urged residents to report all crimes to increase local resources.

Report non-urgent crimes and events by calling the Police Assistance Line on 131 444. People can also call Crime Stoppers on 1800

Everyone has a right to feel safe in their communities. That is why, if elected in November, the Liberals and Nationals will deliver 3,000 more police, reopen police stations, and recruit 200 additional PSOs So that every person gets home safely every day. *Ann-Marie Hermans

CHELSEA SES members with the 501st Legion Knightfall Garrison. Picture: Gary Sissons - picsales.au

Crime drops in Kingston after years of rises

CRIME across the Kingston local government area has dropped by over eight per cent in the year ended March 2026, according to newly released figures from the Crime Statistics Agency.

There were 11,906 criminal offences recorded in the Kingston LGA in the year ending March 2026, down from 12,986 offences in the previous year, a drop of 8.3 per cent.

Despite the drop, crime has still risen in the Kingston LGA by over 25 per cent since 2022.

Cheltenham was the suburb most affected by crime, with 2197 offences. Mentone had 919 offences, up from 888 in the previous 12 months, and Mordialloc had 700 offences, down from 826 offences.

The data shows the largest offence recorded was “steal from a motor vehicle”, decreasing in the 12 months from 1828 incidents to 1630 incidents.

The next most common offence was “steal from a retail store” which dropped from 1184 offences in the previous 12 months to 1093 in the 12 months up to March 2026.

The third most common offence was “other theft”, which dropped from 1218 offences in the previous 12 months compared to 11075 incidents in the 12 months to March 2026.

Data also showed of 4752 offences lead to an arrest of summons, and 5508 offences (46.3 per cent) remained unsolved.

In the neighbouring Frankston LGA, total offences went down 3.7 per cent from 17,740 to 17,079 incidents. The offence “steal from a motor vehicle” was the most common offence with 2127 offences recorded for the 12 months until March 2026.

Statewide, criminal offences have fallen slightly with 625,426 criminal offences recorded in Victoria in the twelve months to March 2026 – a decrease of 1,524 or 0.2%.

A statement from Victoria Police said:

“While this is the first time Victoria has recorded a decrease in crime in almost four years, ever so slight it is, crime remains far too high”.

“Despite today’s decrease, overall crime has still increased by 26% over the past three years.”

Victoria Police analysis suggests it will take some time before crime reduces to levels more traditionally seen in Victoria, with the cost of living, recidivism, organised crime and drugs remaining the main drivers, enabled through the increased use of technology.

“While pleasing to see overall crime slightly decrease, the reality is that overall crime in Victoria still remains far higher than both police and the community would like,” said Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Bob Hill.

“This is why we are absolutely committed to ensuring our highly trained officers are where they are needed most – in the community, patrolling the streets, deterring criminal behaviour and preventing crime.

“This approach is pivotal to achieving Victoria Police’s goal of reducing serious and violent crime by 5% each year.

“The early indications are we’re making some positive steps to achieve this with armed robberies, carjackings, and aggravated home burglaries all reducing.

“Our dedicated officers continue to work extremely hard around-the-clock to protect the community, with a record 210 offenders arrested every day.”

Kingston councillor conflicts continue to drag on

Continued page 3

The Facebook post which sparked the latest arbitration application has since been removed. The arbiter wrote that Cr Saab “alleges that the Facebook post displayed a media release formatted as an official City of Kingston media release, which conveyed to an ordinary reader that this was, or closely resembled, an official council communication. Furthermore, it is alleged this included statements that were misleading and politically loaded, including that ratepayers would be paying for another six months of monitors, and that there was no documented or public process and no reasons provided for the extension. This was considered by the applicant to be inaccurate in the

context of the minister’s letter extending the monitors, which had been sent to councillors and set out the reasons for extension.”

“The applicant alleges that this implied that the position expressed in the post reflected councillors collectively, including by use of phrases such as ‘we are a group of councillors’ and ‘councillors are perplexed’ and by otherwise presenting the matter as if the broader councillor cohort shared the same view.

According to the applicant, this was false and misleading and had an impact upon his and the council’s reputation,” the published arbitration outcome read.

The arbiter’s decision also drew attention to previous arbitration outcomes involving Kingston councillors.

It read that the arbiter “shares the disappointment of arbiter Sarah Fowler who in another recent internal arbitration decision at Kingston Council involving the same parties concluded ‘It is disappointing this matter was not resolved through mediation and that so much time and effort have been expended on this process. I sincerely hope this decision will enable the applicants and respondent to all move on from this grievance now’.”

KINGSTON mayor Georgina Oxley (left) and Cr Hadi Saab (right). Pictures: Supplied

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