TWO Kingston Council decisions deemed invalid by lawyers have been reassessed and approved by councillors.
After Kingston councillor Jane Agirtan was stood down last month, council received legal advice that two decisions made while she was sitting on council were invalid. The two invalidated votes were the approval of a conditional permit for an electronic billboard at Westfield Southland, and a decision to refer grants awarded by the previous council in June 2024 to the Local Government Inspectorate. Both were narrowly decided with Agirtan’s supporting vote earlier this year.
Both matters were reconsidered at Kingston Council’s 28 April meeting. Despite Agirtan’s absence, both motions were approved. Councillors Caroline White, Sarah O’Donnell, Georgia Erevnidis, Chris Howe, and Georgina Oxley voted to refer the grants to the LGI. Councillors Chris Hill, Kirralee Ashworth-Collett, and Hadi Saab voted against, and councillors Tess Law and Tony Athanasopoulos abstained. The vote was approved with the mayor’s casting vote. Councillors Kirralee Ashworth-Collett, Georgia Erevnidis, and Tess Law voted against granting a permit for the billboard.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 7 May 2025