{"id":170629,"date":"2025-09-19T16:32:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T06:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=170629"},"modified":"2025-09-19T17:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T07:30:15","slug":"surf-coast-councillor-faces-month-long-suspension-over-conduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/surf-coast-councillor-faces-month-long-suspension-over-conduct\/","title":{"rendered":"Surf Coast councillor faces month-long suspension over conduct"},"content":{"rendered":"
A SURF Coast Shire councillor will face a month\u2019s suspension, after an independent arbitrator found he engaged in misconduct both online and during council proceedings.<\/p>\n
Cr Paul Barker\u2019s suspension will take effect on Wednesday, the day after the council\u2019s September meeting, and follows a complaint lodged by mayor Mike Bodsworth.<\/p>\n
Under the Local Government Act, misconduct complaints against councillors are determined through an independent arbitration process. A directions hearing was held at the shire\u2019s council offices in May and the arbiter\u2019s report was made public today (Friday, September 19).<\/p>\n
The misconduct ruling centred on two incidents.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nAn estimated 2,500 attended the annual Pilk Purriyn truth-telling event at Cosy Corner on January 26. Photo: SURF COAST SHIRE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/p>\n
Pilk Purriyn<\/strong><\/h4>\n
On January 30, following the annual Pilk Purriyn truth-telling event, Cr Barker made a Facebook post on a Surf Coast community page questioning the accuracy of the attendance numbers promoted by the shire. The post has since been deleted.<\/p>\n
During the hearing, Cr Bodsworth argued the post was \u201cdeliberately dishonest\u201d, \u201caccusatory in tone\u201d, \u201cbrought discredit up the council\u201d and risked undermining the public\u2019s trust and confidence in the integrity of local government.<\/p>\n
Arbiter Diana Price agreed Cr Barker\u2019s actions were a breach of the state\u2019s councillor code of conduct, finding the post \u201ccontained serious accusations couched as questions\u201d, with the issue of crowd estimates \u201cunfairly used\u201d to allege the council was \u201cuntruthful and dishonest\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is plain that Cr Barker\u2019s conduct brought discredit upon the council and risked the loss of public trust in that institution,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis conduct prompted complaints from member of the public and other councillors alike, which demonstrates that his conduct reverberated within the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Cr Barker is \u201centitled to disagree\u201d with the attendance estimates provided, Ms Price said, his actions were an \u201cattempt to sow distrust in the council\u201d and were \u201cunwarranted and inappropriate\u201d.<\/p>\n
During the hearing, Cr Barker maintained that airing his opinion on Facebook is protected political communication, and the council needs to be robust enough to accept criticism.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nA directions hearing was held at the shire\u2019s council offices in May. Photo: ELLIE CLARINGBOLD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/p>\n
Opposing petitions<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The second incident came in February, after the council received two opposing petitions. One called on the council to reinstate support for community celebrations on Australia Day, while the other urged the council to maintain its existing approach to January 26.<\/p>\n
The latter was submitted after the usual deadline, which promoted criticism from Cr Barker \u2014 criticism he shared with local media later that evening.<\/p>\n
Ms Price described Cr Barker\u2019s comments during the council meeting as a \u201cwholly disproportionate reaction\u201d that \u201cfailed to take reasonable care to avoid the diminishment of public trust and confidence\u201d. His email to the media afterwards, she labelled \u201cirresponsible\u201d.<\/p>\n
Noting the petition articulated a \u201cpolitical position contrary to that held by Cr Barker\u201d, Ms Price said concerns should have first been raised internally, rather than shared with media.<\/p>\n
Cr Barker said his comments during the meeting reflected his honestly held beliefs, and suggested external scrutiny from the local media was required in order to achieve any progress on the issue.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nSurf Coast mayor Mike Bodsworth. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/p>\n
Mayor eager to move forward<\/strong><\/h4>\n
In a statement today, Cr Bodsworth said the community expects high standards of conduct from councillors, in line with Victoria\u2019s Model Councillor Code of Conduct.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt Cr Barker\u2019s conduct was inappropriate and he disagreed. The matter was ultimately decided through an independent arbitration process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to refocusing on good governance and great outcomes for local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Price has not directed Cr Barker to apologise for his actions, noting \u201cCr Barker was not willing to apologise and said any direction to do so would be \u2018forced\u2019\u201d. Nor will he required to undergo training in respect of the Councillor Code of Conduct.<\/p>\n
\u201cCr Barker does not lack an understanding of the Code but instead chose to disregard it when making the ill-considered public comments,\u201d Ms Price said.<\/p>\n
Ms Price\u2019s report will be tabled at the shire\u2019s meeting on Tuesday, where councillors will also consider a report about the impacts of celebrating Australia Day on January 26.<\/p>\n
The council will decide if the shire will continue the practice of not participating in Australia Day celebrations while the official date remains January 26. It has not participated in these celebrations since 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A SURF Coast Shire councillor will face a month\u2019s suspension, after an independent arbitrator found he engaged in misconduct both online and during council proceedings. Cr Paul Barker\u2019s suspension will take effect on Wednesday, the day after the council\u2019s September meeting, and follows a complaint lodged by mayor Mike Bodsworth. Under the Local Government Act, […]<\/p>\n
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