City CEO stands up against hurtful treatment of staff

THE CEO of the City of Greater Bendigo has called for disrespectful behaviour towards City councillors and staff to come to an end.

Andrew Cooney, who came into the position earlier this year, said he had seen negative behaviour towards his colleagues escalate.

In an open statement to the community of Greater Bendigo, Mr Cooney called out inappropriate commentary directed towards City representatives, at the hands of people in the community.

“It was an opportunity for me to try and take a stand I suppose on behalf of our councillors and also our staff, and other people in the community, that have to put up with this as part of their day-to-day roles,” he said.

The statement was released ahead of International Women’s Day, and although the timing was coincidental, Mr Cooney said it had become symbolic.

“The irony of it wasn’t lost on me that at the same time we’re having conversations about creating safe and equitable communities, I’ve also seen our female leaders getting unfairly targeted,” he said.

Much of the problematic behaviour is occurring online, with commenters targeting female staff including Mayor Andrea Metcalf.

While the City often restricts users from commenting on their social media pages and sites, the use of inappropriate language towards councillors online has been increasing.

“This statement is a way of trying to draw a line in the sand and get the community to think twice before they press send on that email,” he said.

According to the CEO, employees of all levels are subjected to mistreatment which has prompted additional safety protocols to be implemented to protect staff.

“Our frontline workers, our people on the street, our people who are providing services for the community have been subject to this as well,” he said.

“I don’t want to overplay this, this is not all of the community all of the time, but it is some of the community, some of the time and we’re seeing it increasing.”

There are several options for community members to provide feedback to the CoGB on matters that concern them.

These include a customer contact centre, a web chat, and the Let’s Talk Greater Bendigo website.

“We have a really accessible group of councillors who are transparent and who are prepared to receive feedback and have that debate in the community and that’s not going to stop,” said Mr Cooney.

“All we’ve got to do is just make sure that people are respectful in the way they’re doing it and that’s not what we’re seeing all the time.”