STIRLING councillor Elizabeth Re has won her appeal against a Local Government Standards Panel finding that she breached the local government code of conduct by posting controversial images on Facebook.
Last year Cr Re reposted a series of images to her personal Facebook page, including one of a British soldier featuring the line “we owe illegals nothing and our veterans everything”.
Another contentious post featured all-capital text stating “You came from there because you didn’t like it there, and now you want to change here to be like there. You are welcome here, only don’t try to make here like there. If you want to make here like there you shouldn’t have left there in the first place.”
Cr Re’s repostings were criticised by racial equality advocate Suresh Rajan who said: “The page from which she shares these posts is Speak up Britain. It is a notoriously racist page.”
At the time Stirling mayor Mark Irwin said the posts had “racist undertones” and “inferred that migrants aren’t welcome”.
He was quoted in other media saying: “Cr Re’s comments do not align with City values.
“On behalf of the city I strongly object to this message and have written to Cr Re to request that she reconsiders and apologises and/or remove these posts while the city follows any due process.”
Standards
Cr Re was referred to the Local Government Standards Panel, and in February the LGSP initially found she had contravened Clause 18 of the rules of conduct adopted by Stirling council, specifically a clause stating that a council member must not make improper use of their office to cause detriment to the local government or any other person.
A sanction was imposed requiring her to make a public apology, but Cr Re appealed the decision to the State Administrative Tribunal, and on October 30 the LGSP finding was overturned.
Cr Re’s media release from her lawyer states: “Cr Re applied to the State Administrative Tribunal to review those findings by the LGSP, and the attorney-general of Western Australia then intervened in the proceedings before the tribunal.”
According to a spokesperson from the attorney-general’s office, the A-G intervenes in all cases involving the LGSP, which cannot contest SAT reviews challenging its decisions in order to maintain impartiality.
Cr Re’s media release goes on to say: “On reviewing the posts, the attorney-general, through the State Solicitor’s Office, accepted that the posts did not provide any basis for a finding that Cr Re intended to denigrate or disparage migrants in any way, or to cause any other form of detriment to migrants. For these reasons, the attorney-general requested that the tribunal set aside the findings that had been made by the LGSP, which the tribunal has now done.”
The response from the A-G’s office confirms the pivotal points: “In this case, the evidence did not demonstrate an intention by Cr Re to cause detriment to the City or any other specific person, and accordingly lawyers for the attorneys-general submitted that the decision of the panel should be set aside.”
While the test for Clause 18 wasn’t met, the response from the A-G’s office does note that “in the proceedings, lawyers for the attorney-general contended that Cr Re’s conduct, in sending the Facebook posts, contravened clause 5 of the City’s Code of Conduct and was therefore improper.”
But Clause 5 is in a list of “general principles” of the code of conduct, and not in the sterner section labelled “rules of conduct” where Clause 18 rests. Clause 5 says councillors “should… treat others with respect, courtesy, and fairness; and… respect and value diversity in the community.”
Cr Re’s release concludes: “The outcome exonerates Cr Re and establishes that mayor Irwin’s comments to the media at the time were both incorrect and uncalled-for. Cr Re has indicated that she will be seeking a public apology from mayor Irwin.”
We asked the mayor for comment via Stirling’s media crew and got a response stating: “The mayor’s views on the social media activity in question have not changed since the City received the initial media queries about Cr Re’s social media posts in November 2023.
“The social media activity did not align with the City’s values, and the mayor has not been requested to apologise to Cr Re by the Local Government Standards Panel or the State Administrative Tribunal.
“The City makes extensive training and support available to elected members to support them in their roles as leaders of our diverse community.”
by DAVID BELL
Perth Voice Interactive 
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