FRANKSTON councillor Steven Hughes has been suspended for a second time.
An arbiter has ruled that Hughes must serve a one month suspension and provide an apology to council staff for his behaviour. This is the second one-month suspension handed to Hughes since his election in 2020.
The most recent arbitration process was initiated by seven of Hughes’ fellow councillors last year. They signed a written dispute statement alleging Hughes had engaged in misconduct.
Hughes and his son, deputy mayor Liam Hughes, were the only councillors to not sign the dispute statement.
Eight allegations of misconduct were made against Hughes. Arbiter Matthew Evans found that four of them were breaches of Frankston Council’s code of conduct. He dismissed the other four allegations.
Hughes has been ordered to apologise to council staff over his handling of a petition from Ozone Avenue residents. The arbiter’s decision read that Hughes breached the code of conduct as he had not treated staff with “dignity, fairness, objectivity, courtesy, and respect”.
“Councillor Hughes derided council staff in front of the elected council and senior officers of the council, after he formed a position on this matter without providing substantial evidence,” the decision read.
Two of the other code of conduct breaches were a result of Hughes’ social media activity. The arbiter substantiated allegations that Hughes had breached the code by failing to remove the posts that caused his first suspension in 2021. He also breached the code in a post comparing Frankston Council’s rates to those in other municipalities, the arbiter found.
Hughes was also found in breach of the code of conduct over a heated email sent to the mayor Nathan Conroy, which was copied to all councillors. The email exchange was sparked by a memorandum sent by the mayor to all councillors on the topic of councillor behaviour (“Councillor conduct prompts memo from mayor” The Times 3/5/2022).
Conroy told The Times that council is “satisfied the findings of the arbiter are fair and considered and we are pleased to have the matter concluded.”
“Councillors are working extremely hard for their community and when this is done together the community clearly benefits,” he said. “It’s important to have a good relationship with all councillors and I will continue to do that for the interest of our community.”
Council has confirmed that Hughes will not be paid, or have access to council resources during his suspension.
Hughes was contacted for comment.
Hughes was first suspended for a month in 2021 after the conclusion of a separate arbitration process. He was suspended for making social media posts which compared Frankston Council’s local laws to those found in North Korea (“Rebel councillor suspended over Facebook posts” The Times 31/8/21).
Separately from the latest arbitration outcome, Hughes is also expected to face a councillor conduct panel this year. He is facing an allegation of serious misconduct.
The maximum punishment Hughes could receive at the conduct panel is a 12 month suspension. Councillors voted to make an application for a conduct panel in October last year, with Hughes’ social media activity understood to be a contributing factor once again (“Councillor could cop 12 month ban” The Times 11/10/22).
Steven Hughes made a councillor conduct panel application against former mayor Kris Bolam last year. The panel dismissed Hughes’ allegations of bullying. The whole process cost ratepayers upwards of $30,000.
The Times asked Frankston Council how much the latest round of arbitration cost Frankston ratepayers. The mayor Nathan Conroy said “this process has only just been completed and costs are not finalised”.
Hughes’ suspension is effective from 31 January.