News / Council
Pulford suspended over ‘robust debate’
Greens say council rules are stifling democracy
Mark Phillips
ADAM Pulford will become the second Merri-bek councillor – and the second former Mayor – to be suspended this year following an independent arbiter’s finding of misconduct.
Pulford will begin a two-week suspension next week after the arbiter’s report is formally tabled at the final council meeting of the year on Wednesday.
The Greens councillor for Warrk Warrk ward in Brunswick East was found by arbiter Matthew Evans to have breached three sections of the model code of conduct for elected councillors following a complaint by fellow councillor Oscar Yildiz over comments he made during a council meeting in April.
Pulford’s suspension continues antagonism between Greens on the council and Yildiz, after the latter was suspended for a month in the middle of this year following complaints by a Green councillor.
Yildiz said he would have accepted an adequate apology from Pulford for his comments but felt he had no choice but to pursue arbitration when he did not receive one.
The suspension of Pulford has prompted calls for a review of the councillors’ code of conduct and recent changes to the enforcement of the code.
The latest suspension stems back to a debate in the council chambers on April 9 about the introduction of two rainbow road crossings that will be installed in Merri-bek at locations yet to be finalised.
Yildiz, who baulked at their $45,000 cost, was the only councillor to vote against the crossings, which are intended as a symbol of LGBTQIA+ pride and solidarity.
Yildiz complained that Pulford’s comments and behaviour during the debate had breached the councillors’ code of conduct on three counts.
The most serious complaint was over Pulford accusing Yildiz during the council debate of “duplicitousness” for opposing the rainbow crossings after he signed a pledge in support of LGBTQIA+ rights during the 2024 election campaign.
Pulford, who is gay, was upset that Yildiz had criticised the proposed rainbow crossings in media interviews prior to the council meeting “stirring up division and anger over Queer issues”.
“This Councillor is happy to sign the rainbow pledge and say he will support LGBTQIA+ people when he wants our votes,” he said, according to a transcript of the council debate.
“But when he’s in a position … to honour this pledge, he breaks it and goes on radio to spread division.”
In his complaint, Yildiz claimed Pulford made multiple statements during the debate that were offensive, malicious and factually incorrect, and did not treat him with dignity, fairness, objectivity, courtesy and respect.
In his defence, Pulford said his comments were part of “robust debate” – an explanation that the arbiter did not accept.
“Cr Pulford used inflammatory language, neglected to allow others the opportunity to speak without interruption, and most importantly his criticism focused on Cr Yildiz rather than ideas or issues being discussed,” Evans wrote in a decision that was issued on November 21.
“In this case, ‘robust public debate’ is not a defence against breaches of this standard of conduct.”
Pulford was also found to have been unsupportive of the Mayor Helen Davidson during the debate, and of acting in a way that was likely diminish the public’s trust and confidence in the integrity of the council.
Yildiz said he respected the arbiter’s decision although Pulford has been suspended for a shorter period than he was earlier this year.
He said he complained about Pulford because he felt he had been unfairly maligned during the council debate. He said his only concern about the rainbow crossings had been the cost as he believed the money allocated would be better spent on services for LGBTQIA+ people.
“Robust debate is one thing, but what we’ve forgotten in this country is being able to agree to disagree. If Adam wants to vote differently from me, that’s fine, but express your view respectfully.”
Yildiz said prior to lodging a formal complaint, he had sought to resolve the issue in a face-to-face meeting with Pulford that was witnessed by Davidson. After he did not receive an adequate verbal apology, Yildiz said he followed up by email requesting one.
“If he had just apologised we would not be here and we would have moved on by now,” he said.
“I didn’t want to go through arbitration … it’s a flawed process and stressful for me and him and I didn’t want it to end up there. But he didn’t want to accept any fault at all.”
Pulford, who insisted during the arbitration process that he did not believe a finding of misconduct should be made, said he remained concerned that his speech was considered to have broken the code of conduct.
“These current rules and the process, set by state government, risk limiting councillors’ ability to hold each other accountable on behalf of the community,” he said.
“Fair, robust debate is fundamental to a healthy local democracy.”
In the wake of the adverse findings against Pulford, the Greens are calling on the Minister for Local Government to review the council code of conduct and enforcement process which was introduced last year.
The party says the process is being used to stifle political communication, lacks transparency, and has no practical avenues for appeal.
Brunswick Greens MP Tim Read, who is the chair of the Legislative Assembly’s Integrity and Oversight Committee, said: “When a gay Councillor raises concerns about a councillor’s broken promise to the LGBTQIA+ community and he is the one suspended, something is wrong with the council complaints system.”
Yildiz agreed that there were problems with the arbitration process.
“Some will say it’s a kangaroo court, some are saying it’s wasteful of ratepayers’ money,” he said. “The arbitration process is strenuous, stressful and absorbs a lot of time and energy and time from [council] officers as well.
“I think there’s better ways we can resolve these issues.”
The suspension of Pulford is the latest development in simmering tension between Yildiz and the four Greens councillors stemming back to the first meeting of the newly-elected council in December last year, when Yildiz was furious that he was overlooked as the council’s representative to the Municipal Association of Victoria.
Following a complaint from Greens councillor Jay Iwasaki about a Facebook post about that meeting, Yildiz was suspended for a month in July.
Pulford’s suspension will begin next Thursday.
If you liked this story, have you thought about supporting our work?
We are an independent, volunteer-run hyperlocal news organisation owned and run by the people in your community. With your support, we can continue to produce unique and valuable local journalism for Brunswick, Coburg and the inner north of Melbourne.
Latest stories:
- Council baulks at cost of buying Don Bosco
- ‘Maybe I’m just hardwired to be an optimist’
- NOBs hold off fast finishing UHS for gritty win
