Moran: I was bullied as part of witch-hunt

FORMER mayoral chief of staff Wayne Moran has made explosive claims about bullying at council, saying he was kept in a “windowless and airless” room with lawyers for half a day before departing.

Mr Moran contacted the Bulletin after a Councillor Conduct Tribunal found Mayor Tom Tate guilty of misconduct.

The claims occur as new council CEO Tim Baker on Monday will deliver the results of the first cultural review of staff undertaken in more than a decade.

Cr Tate is seeking a review of the tribunal findings, which relate to his behaviour when former CEO Dale Dickson attempted to take disciplinary action against Mr Moran before he left City Hall in 2020.

The Mayor asked Mr Dickson to cease disciplinary action against Mr Moran. Cr Tate later failed to declare a conflict of interest when councillors considered his mayoral directions.

Mr Moran told the Bulletin on Friday: “It was a witch-hunt seven years ago and nothing has changed.

“A dirt file was manufactured on me to internally silence me about the massive waste by the then council administration.

“I refused to be silenced to ensure that the council resources and workforce were working for all ratepayers. This meant cutting excess waste that was apparent at the time.”

Mr Moran said his advice and the Mayor’s “fantastic leadership” led to reducing council’s nine directorates to six, keeping rate rises under cost of living and paying down massive debt, milestones which few other councils could achieve.

“Regardless of feeling bullied every day I worked to support the Mayor to ensure that ratepayers were getting value for money every day,” Mr Moran said.

“The administration even bullied me out of making a bullying complaint at one point by putting me in a windowless and airless room with two lawyers for about half a day until I agreed to

apologise for even raising the “b” word (bullying). Looking back now, how Orwellian is that.

“I wish the new CEO (Tim Baker) lots of luck and energy in the coming years with his reform agenda and cleaning out the rot. But I fear the administration’s dark forces will come for him if he doesn’t move first Game of Thrones style.

“The city needs the new CEO to succeed. The saddest thing about this is the personal toll this whole matter has taken on me and my family when there has been no charges, nothing illegal and nothing criminal found.”