A PROPOSAL to release information about the standing down of Cr Jane Agirtan has sparked disagreement between Kingston councillors.
Councillor Jane Agirtan was stood down under section 229 of the Local Government Act after being charged with breaching a personal safety intervention order. At Kingston Council’s 28 April meeting, councillor Chris Hill moved a notice of motion to “where possible, release details of the internal review that has taken place into the events that led to the standing down of a councillor” and “develop a robust process for the handling of similar matters in future that incorporates the principles of good governance.”
Minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin, amendments to the notice of motion were emailed to councillors. The amended motion, which was moved by councillor Georgia Erevnidis and seconded by Caroline White, substantially changed the wording of the motion. The amended motion gave council’s CEO final discretion over the release of information and omitted the development of a process to handle similar matters in the future.
Cr Hill criticised the amended motion, saying the “intent has drifted from the intent I had when I raised this notice of motion.” “What was driving me at the time of putting it forward, and the wording, was very much about addressing something that needed to be addressed and doing it in as respectful a way as humanly possible,” he said.
Cr Kirralee Ashworth-Collett also voiced concerns about the amendment – she said “I would like for this to be open and for us to be able to get legal advice that’s separate from legal advice that the mayor and CEO have been given. “I don’t think that’s unreasonable – we asked to see legal advice from last week, we still haven’t been able to see that. This isn’t sitting right with me, it isn’t sitting right with lots of the community, and I feel like it’s not unreasonable that we want this to be clear to the community.”
Cr Erevnidis, who moved the amended motion, said “we need to inform the community that action has been taken regarding social media. There needs to be a balance between respectful confidentiality and being transparent.” “So far in the amendment councillors have been given the opportunity to ask questions and therefore this amendment is appropriate,” she said.
The final amended motion approved at last week’s meeting read that “Council note the confidential briefing on this matter that occurred on 22/4/25 and release any further information to the public as deemed appropriate by the CEO. Council further notes that this matter is operational in nature.”
The motion also read that “Council note the requirements set out under section 229 of the Local Government Act and that the CEO provide this advice to councillors and any further advice to ensure their eligibility as a councillor and what to do if they are unsure of their eligibility” and that “Council note that the CEO provided a confidential briefing on this matter on 22/4/25 where councillors were able to ask questions to the CEO. Should further questions arise from councillors following this briefing and actioning of points 1 and 2 the CEO ensure that a further legal briefing is held for councillors to provide further clarity on councillors requirements to fulfil their role and eligibility.”
Section 229 of the Local Government Act was amended by the state government in 2024 – it now reads a councillor is stood down if charged with “an offence against this Act for which the maximum penalty is at least 120 penalty units or a period of imprisonment of at least 12 months” or “an offence against a law of Victoria, or a law of another State, a Territory or the Commonwealth, that is punishable by a period of imprisonment of at least 2 years for a first conviction.” The maximum penalty for breaching a personal safety intervention order is two years imprisonment. The order to stand down from council is withdrawn once the legal process concludes.
Hadi Saab raised a point of order and said the amendment to Cr Hill’s motion should not be accepted as it changed the original intent of the notice of motion. The mayor Georgina Oxley, who confirmed she had input on the amended motion, ruled against the point of order.
Although most of the amendment was passed, councillors voted against the release of a report on the matter at next month’s public meeting. Kirallee Ashworth-Collett, Tony Athanasopoulos, Chris Hill, Tess Law, and Hadi Saab voted for the report’s release, but the vote was defeated with the casting vote of the mayor.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 7 May 2025