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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2025
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● Just when you thought politics couldn’t get any crazier at Whittlesea Council … Guess who was spotted in the public gallery at last week’s Council meeting? Pictured is Simon Overland, former CEO of Whittlesea Council (2017-2019) and former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police. Mr Overland was removed from the municipal CEO position following a Whittlesea City Council meeting on December 10, 2019, a week before his scheduled appearance at the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants. It is not clear why Mr Overland was in attendance at South Morang on Tuesday night. He retired as General Manager of Burnie City Council (Tas.) last November. If he had have wanted to have remained low profile, he could have viewed the meeting on live streaming in the privacy of his own home. Perhaps he wanted to see some of the recycled Councillors who themselves were sacked in March 2020 by the Victorian State Government? Or maybe he is eyeing Craig Lloyd’s $390,000-a-year Whittlesea Council CEO position? At Whittlesea, stranger things have happened.
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● Whittlesea Mayor Cr Aidan McLindon with CEO Craig Lloyd at last week’s Council meeting ■ Whittlesea Councillors voted unanimously last Tuesday night (Feb. 18), calling on Mayor Cr Aidan McLindon to immediately resign. This follows allegations that Cr McLindon has committed multiple breaches of the Councillor Model Code of Conduct. The subject was raised after a petition from the public was presented to the Council meeting calling for Cr McLindon to resign. Cr Lawrie Cox said that the petition contained 1335 signatures. Cr McLindon vacated the chair as discussion commenced on the motion. He returned to the Council Chambers after the vote, quipping: “It feels like a wake.” The petition came after Cr McLindon, only weeks after being appointed as Mayor, stood as a candidate for the Werribee by-election. In a shaky performance at the Council meeting, Cr Christine Stow noted that it was anyone’s right to stand for election. Deputy Mayor Cr Daniela Zinni took the chair for discussion. One person loudly interjected on several occasions, with Cr Zinni reading warning statements, and then calling for that person to be removed. Cr Cox said that the Council needed to learn from the mistakes of 2020, when it was dismissed by the State Government. Cr Martin Taylor, of South Morang Ward, who moved the original motion, said that residents had lost faith in Cr McLindon’s ability to carry out of his duties. Public confidence had been undermined. Matters of integrity and accountability were at stake, and the position of Mayor was not just a title. “People need a Mayor who they can trust.” The final motion voted upon by Councillors was that Council: ■ Pursuant to the provisions of the Local Government Act 2020 (Victoria) resolves to pass a vote of no confidence in the Mayor, Cr Aidan McLindon, citing of (a) the Councillor Model Code of Conduct; and (b) public confidence in both the position of Mayor and the broader Whittlesea City Council. ■ Calls for the immediate resignation of Cr Aidan McLindon from the office of Mayor, and ■ Directs that the Deputy Mayor, Cr Daniela Zinni, send the Petition and a copy of this resolution to the Minister for Local Government in Victoria for the Minister’s information. ■ Note the petiton.
Mitchell Brown www.broadforditsolutions.com.au info@broadforditsolutions.com.au
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