FRANKSTON councillor Steven Hughes has again made reference to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un when discussing council’s communication rules.
Hughes is serving a month-long suspension. In the wake of his suspension being handed down, Hughes published four lengthy Facebook posts last week detailing his thoughts on the arbitration process that led to his stint on the sidelines.
Not for the first time, Hughes wrote about North Korea and its dictator Kim Jong-Un in a post which discussed Frankston Council’s social media policies. The post was accompanied by a photoshopped image of Kim Jong-Un with a dolphin, the animal which is a feature of Frankston Council’s logo.
In 2021 Hughes posted a photoshopped North Korean flag with a dolphin on it to Facebook, writing that council’s new social media policy would “make Kim Jon-Un nod in approval”. He was suspended from council for that post, and has just been suspended again partly because the post remained active on his page.
Last week Hughes sensationally told his Facebook followers that the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un had helped “restore democracy to Frankston”.
“I made a social media post about this dystopian code [of conduct], which contained an image of a North Korean flag with a Dolphin logo to highlight similarities between the code and laws in the DPRK. This displeased seven councillors who then sent me to arbitration where I was suspended for one month,” he said. “I reinstated my North Korean flag with the dolphin social media post that got me suspended the first time, and waited for councillors to take the trap. On June 6, 2022, councillors took the bait and sent me back to arbitration.”
Hughes claims he took legal advice into the arbitration which resulted in a change to council’s code of conduct. Late last year councillors opted to remove a clause in the code which read: “Councillors undertake to comply with the council’s communications policy and to respect the roles of the mayor and chief executive officer as the official spokespersons of the council. Although any councillor is entitled to communicate his or her views to the media, constituents and others, they should not in doing so criticise or actively seek to undermine any decision or position already taken by the council.”
Hughes said the removal of the clause was “a righteous victory against a system that is set up to protect the status quo. I was proud of what was accomplished.” He signed off his Facebook post by saying “thank you to all Frankston residents for your continued support in my struggle to bring accountability and financial responsibility to Frankston Council. And a special shout out to the despotic regime of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for their unknowing support in restoring democracy in Frankston.”
Frankston Council asserts that the code of conduct prior to its revision was “never illegal or incorrect”.
“At the council meeting on 24 October 2022, council voted to amend the councillor code of conduct in relation to a section which set out expectations around councillor communications and use of social media,” Frankston Council strategic communications director Matthew Mollett said. “Any failure by a councillor to adhere to the communications policy would not, in itself, give rise to a councillor conduct matter, [for example] arbitration. It has always been the case that a councillor conduct matter can only be commenced as a result of a breach of one or more of the standards of conduct.”
Hughes’ bizarre Facebook post also invited Hollywood or Bollywood movie producers to contact him for movie rights to the saga. Musician Bryan Adams and viral internet sensation Hasbulla were also mentioned in the lengthy post.
Hughes was suspended for a month effective from 31 January. He is not being paid his council remuneration for the duration of his suspension. He is still expected to face a councillor conduct panel sometime this year, with a suspension of up to a year looming if he is found to have committed serious misconduct.
