A searing report has found Casey councillors were more worried about protecting their own reputations amid explosive corruption allegations than serving their community.
A culture of bullying, failure to understand conflicts of interest and predetermined voting at council meetings were also major failures the municipal monitor identified in her report on the council.
The council was sacked on Tuesday after State Parliament voted to uphold the findings of monitor Laurinda Gardner, who had been brought in by the government following serious corruption allegations raised in public hearings by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.
An IBAC surveillance photo of Casey councillor Sam Aziz (left) and developer John Woodman (right) at a Subway restaurant in April 2018. Credit:IBAC
Ms Gardner said the entire council needed to be dismissed in her report tabled in State Parliament on Tuesday.
“There is an overriding view that if one or both councillors at the centre of the investigation to date were removed everything would be all right and that the remaining councillors have ‘done nothing wrong’,” she wrote. “This is an inadequate response to the situation…”
The council was also riven by internal bullying and intimidation, Ms Gardner wrote.
“This unwillingness of councillors to call out unacceptable councillor behaviour and hold each other to account appears to be motivated by a fear of conflict or further intimidation that has enabled inappropriate behaviour to go unchecked.”
Councillors also decided behind closed doors to vote “en bloc”, leading to short council meetings that sometimes lasted less than an hour.
The strife-prone Casey council could be run by administrators for almost five years before residents get the chance to vote for their own representatives again.
The Andrews government decided to sack the council following revelations of alleged corruption linked to embattled property developer John Woodman.
The passage through State Parliament of the bill allowing the sacking was marked by further controversy on Tuesday, even though both parties supported the move.
Liberal upper house veteran Bruce Atkinson crossed the floor to vote against his own party on an amendment calling for early council elections at Casey.
Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek said it was likely the next elections in Casey would be held in 2024.
During Tuesday afternoon's heated debate Mr Somyurek and Mr Atkinson exchanged barbs in the Legislative Council chamber.
Council elections are usually held every four years.
Minister for Local Government Adem Somyurek.Credit:Eddie Jim
Mr Somyurek said an extended period was required for administrators to "embed good governance practices" across the council and repair the damage done to its reputation.
"Our view is that democratic representation on council needs to be delayed for an extended period of time in order for the administrators to do their job," he said.
"Victorians deserve the highest standards of governance and integrity from their councils, unfortunately what the monitor found was something well below those expectations."
John Woodman late last year, after spending a day on the stand at IBAC.Credit:Justin McManus
Public hearings by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission have heard explosive allegations of huge donations paid by Mr Woodman to councillors Sam Aziz and Geoff Ablett.
Mr Somyurek said current laws made it near impossible to sack individual councillors, which is something he wanted to change.
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Shadow local government spokesman Tim Smith said the opposition "absolutely" supported the dismissal of Casey council.
"It should have happened much quicker than it has happened. I don't know why it's taken this long," he said.
But Mr Smith said two years was an appropriate period for the council to be run by administrators and it was "not abnormal" for special elections to be held.
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