By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Casey mayor Sam Aziz has been swiftly cleared by the Local Government Inspectorate after being accused of possible code-of-conduct breaches by a local MP.
Narre Warren South MP Judith Couacaud Graley had called for an investigation in State Parliament on 25 May over Cr Aziz’s threatened lawsuit against Berwick Springs roundabout protestors.
Star News understands that the inspectorate found no identifiable offence and will take no further action.
However, Ms Graley told Star News that she’d not raised the matter with the inspectorate but with Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins.
Ms Hutchins was “still looking into and following up my request”, Ms Graley said.
Cr Aziz said Ms Graley’s original speech in “Coward’s Castle” was “political mischief” designed to put a group from City of Casey in disrepute.
He said it was the second failed gambit from Ms Graley after Casey’s governance was cleared by a state-appointed monitor in 2016. It had cost Casey ratepayers $25,000, he said.
“She’s had her political fun and it’s come to nothing.”
Cr Aziz said Ms Graley would be better spending her time fighting for state funding to unclog roads, improve public transport and tackle crime in the region – all of which was “spiralling out of control”.
“Why is it the west (suburbs of Melbourne) get $1.4 billion of funding while the south-east gets nothing, when we have three government MPs holding seats in the City of Casey?”
Recently, Cr Aziz sent legal letters to several people who posted on a Facebook page against a proposed roundabout across a bluestone-wall estate gateway at Greaves Road and Berwick Springs Promenade, Narre Warren.
The letters demanded an apology “in wording to be agreed”, and the payment of Cr Aziz’s “reasonable” legal costs as well as “adequate” damages compensation.
Cr Aziz, who was unwilling to comment on the lawsuits themselves, has maintained his actions were lawful and “absolutely not” in breach of the code.
He said there was a “massive” difference between political protest and defamation on his character.
Ms Graley had told Parliament that Cr Aziz might have been in breach of code-of-conduct provisions that councillors treated “all persons with respect” and had “due regard” to their opinions, beliefs, rights and responsibilities.
“One could question whether the mayor is using his position of power, or maybe even council resources, to attack the very constituents he should be representing.”
