Suspended councillors Grahame Andrews and Graham McLaughlin voiced their disappointment at how the council was run on day 12 of the public inquiry into Wingecarribee Shire Council.
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Mr Andrews said he felt the councillors had lost their way in the last 18 months of the 2016-2020 term.
"For the first two years of the term, the council worked well," he said.
"Increasingly the next 18 months of the term before our suspension, councillors lost their way in terms of behaviour.
"Certainly some of it was bordering and could probably be defined as bullying across the table.
"The last briefing session before the suspension orders all but three councillors and staff walked out. The council meeting following was bad enough.
"It was disgraceful."
Mr Andrews said a briefing session had been called by the mayor to discuss the suspension order and to respond to the then Minister of Local Government, Ms Shelley Hancock as to why the councillors shouldn't be suspended.
"It was the right move by the mayor," he said.
"Those who didn't want to see the demise of the council were pretty desperate and presented something sensible but that wasn't the case."
In his submission to the public inquiry, Mr Andrews said the actions of two councillors influenced and affected the functionality of the whole governing body.
"There was no way we could operate while the [dysfunction] was occurring," he said.
"The council was dysfunctional."
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- 'Council is a strange beast'; Suspended councillors make an appearance on day 11 of public inquiry
Graham McLaughlin was the second witness to speak at the inquiry.
Mr McLaughlin was the Labor party-endorsed candidate on the council and served in 2008, 2012, and 2016 terms.
In his submission, Mr McLaughlin said he believed the 2016 council was "dysfunctional".
"Initially it was apparent in the first couple of years," he said.
"The briefing sessions were problematic, there were personalities and egos that just wanted it all their way.
"...I think any reasonable person looking at council meetings could see the attacks for themselves.
"I had a lot of respect for our general manager, I had a lot of respect for that staff, but they were attacked."
All transcripts and a list of speakers can be found on the Office of Local Government website.
Anyone who wishes to watch past proceedings can do so via the Wingecarribee Shire Council YouTube channel.
Residents who wish to view the live proceedings may do so by watching the live stream on the Office of Local Government website.
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Vera Demertzis
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
