Mayor warns councillor of suspension

BRIGHTON mayor Tony Foster has written to councillor Keith Higgins to say he is considering suspending him from council meetings for his behaviour and failure to follow the directions of a code of conduct ruling against him.

But Cr Higgins, who last year had been ordered to apologise for his comments about a fellow councillor and a staff member, says he is the one who deserves the apology.

Cr Higgins was slapped by the independent code of conduct panel for transgressions involving Brighton’s governance and human services manager Janine Banks and fellow councillor Wayne Garlick.

The panel told Cr Higgins to apologise to Ms Banks for saying she was “the nastiest person” he had met and to apologise to Cr Garlick for calling him “a thief and a liar”.

In all, Cr Higgins fronted the code of conduct panel three times last year, one of the complaints being lodged before he was even sworn into office.

But Cr Higgins said he would not apologise, and Cr Foster said the councillor’s refusal combined with his behaviour at the last council meeting had forced him to write to Cr Higgins. The letter warns that Cr Foster, as the chairman, was considering suspending him from meetings.

“Something has to happen, you can’t have a tribunal make a decision and someone thumb their nose at it,” Cr Foster said.

“I do not want to be there for another year putting up with bad behaviour.

“I’ve asked him to come to the next meeting [on Tuesday] and apologise in the open session.

“The chairperson can suspend him so I have the opportunity or the right to do so if necessary.”

Cr Higgins, who has said the code of conduct complaints were part of a campaign to derail his attempts to improve council transparency, said the council should apologise to him.

He also said he would be willing to take the matter to the courts.

“I don’t care what they say, I will not be apologising,” he said.

“They should be apologising to me the way they have treated me. If it has to go further I will take it further.”