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30 APRIL, 2024
Local rivals go at it A town was split in two on Saturday as Darley took on Bacchus Marsh in the Ballarat Football Netball League. It was the Devils that came out on top winning the senior football, all six netball matches and the women’s football. ■ For more on the senior men’s football, turn to page 19
Darley’s Luther Baker has eyes on the ball. (Ljubica Vrankovic) 403538_50
Councillor suspended Ashleigh Vandenberg has been suspended as a Melton councillor for 14 days after an internal arbitration process made a finding of misconduct against her. Melton councillors Julie Shannon, Kathy Majdlik, Goran Kesic, Sophie Ramsey, Bob Turner, Steve Abboushi and Justine Farrugia (the applicants) lodged an application for internal arbitration against Cr Vandenberg on June 27, 2023, contending that she breached the ’standards of conduct’ through Facebook posts on her ‘Cr Ashleigh Vandenberg City of Melton- Coburn Ward’ page on March 29, May 22 and 24 last year. In a report tabled at last week’s council meeting, arbiter Louise Martin found Cr Vandenberg was in breach of the standards of conduct by “bringing discredit upon the council” in the March 29 and May 24 posts. Ms Martin also found that Cr Vandenberg breached the standards of conduct by “failing
to treat her fellow councillors with dignity, fairness and courtesy” in the May 24 post. Ms Martin found that the May 22 post did not breach the standards of conduct because its purpose did not “wholly appear to be to criticise the council and bring discredit upon the council”. Cr Vandenberg was directed to issue a verbal apology to her fellow councillors at the next council meeting at which she is in attendance, and a written apology on her Facebook account within 21 days over the March 29 Facebook post. In her decision and statement of reasons, which was tabled at last week’s council meeting, Ms Martin noted the May 24 Facebook post was the subject of “pre-litigation proceedings” at the time of the hearings, and as such it was “inappropriate“ for her to direct Cr Vandenberg to make an apology. However, Ms Martin said given Cr
Vandenberg “accused her colleagues of unlawful conduct and racial vilification in the Facebook post”, it was a “particularly serious breach” of the standards of conduct, and directed that Cr Vandenberg be suspended for 14 days following the tabling of her reasons at a council meeting. The March 29 Facebook post was in relation to Cr Vandenberg’s request for the development of a business case for an Aboriginal hub, as part of council’s 2023-24 budget submissions, which was rejected by council during its meeting on March 27, 2023. Cr Vandenberg, who is Melton’s first and only First Nations councillor, wrote that she was told “the budget cut off had passed” and that other councillors did “manage to bend the rules” for a trial of a coffee cup recycling program. Ms Martin wrote that the applicants contended the Facebook post “was not based on
correct facts” and “contained unfair influences against her fellow councillors and the council staff responsible for the cup recycling trial”, which was in breach of the standards of conduct. Ms Martin wrote that Cr Vandenberg felt Indigenous issues were being “overlooked in favour of other things, such as the cup recycling trial”, and that was what she meant when she stated that the rules had been bent. According to the report, Cr Vandenberg said she did not make the post in her capacity as a councillor, however Ms Martin felt otherwise. Ms Martin agreed the post was not based on “correct facts” and contained “unfair inferences against Cr Vandenberg’s fellow councillors”. She wrote the councillors “did not have a preferred project for which they managed to bend the rules”. ■ Continued: Page 7
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