Kempsey Shire councillor Noel Selby did post a Facebook comment telling a woman it was a “pity he hadn’t bashed you”, an external investigator has found, despite his claim it was posted without his consent.
Cr Selby had earlier told the council’s CEO the content was posted from his social media account without his consent.
The row began in mid-April, when an account named “Selby Noel” allegedly commented on a post in a Facebook group. A woman had asked whether a public figure in a news article had been violent towards his partners.
“Didn’t he bash his wife, then his mistress,” she wrote.
The Selby Noel account allegedly replied “pity he hadn’t bashed you”.
That comment has since been removed. Another remains on the same post, in which the Selby Noel account suggests another woman’s mother “should have swallowed”.
Kempsey Shire Council then launched an investigation, carried out by workplace management firm Centium. On Thursday, the results were emailed to people who had made official complaints to the council about the alleged comments.
In the report, obtained by the Mid North Coaster, the Centium investigator took the view that Cr Selby “did post the comment from his Facebook account”.
“I am also of the view that Cr Selby’s comment has breached Council’s Code of Conduct as it causes, comprises or involves intimidation and constitutes harassment, in that it is not wanted by the person and offends, humiliates or intimidates the person, and creates a hostile environment. It also has the capacity to damage the Council’s reputation,” the investigator wrote.
The report is not a legal finding, but the council can use it to inform how it responds. The investigator recommended Cr Selby be censured by the council, in accordance with the Local Government Act. The investigator’s recommendation will be considered at the next meeting on Tuesday, 20 October.
However, the councillor faces no real repercussions. Like other councillors across the state that behave in ways the community would find abhorrent, the strongest thing a council can do is censure the councillor, which is a formal statement of disapproval with no legal or financial impact. Councillors cannot be removed from council by either other councillors, or even the Minister for Local Government. The Office of Local Government has the power to suspend councillors for three months at a time, and after three suspensions they will become disqualified from serving on council.
Anti-violence advocate Sherele Moody has called on the council to “hold Selby to account” and suggested Selby should take himself out.
“I am also calling on Selby to retire from council as it is not appropriate for a man to make comments that normalise gendered violence in Australia,” said Ms Moody.
“We are in the midst of a femicide epidemic and Selby’s decision to wish a woman be bashed on a post about murdered women feeds into the attitudes that underpin gendered violence and femicide.”
“This is not just a situation where an apology is sufficient.”
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