Meanwhile the mayor is pouring cold water on the controversy surrounding his council and says he is concerned the matter has entered the public realm.
Councillors Donna Bruce and Mel Cupit are facing code of conduct complaints filed against them by six of their colleagues: Crs Andy Fraser, Paul McPhail, Robert McKenzie, Torrone Smith, Neville Phillips and deputy mayor Joe Stringer.
Gore District Mayor Ben Bell said the next step in the process before council would be mediation, but the issue that concerned him at present was a breach of confidentiality.
‘‘My worry, if I’m being honest, is that now an individual has leaked, taken a private and confidential matter and put it up to the public domain, that mediation and that public justice becomes a lot more difficult,’’ he said.
He did not know who the leaker was, although he did have his suspicions and called for the community to ‘‘have faith in the process’’.
‘‘There’s a reason why there is a code of conduct in place, there’s a reason why there’s a process to deal with these things.’’
The specifics of the code of conduct complaints against Crs Cupit and Bruce are unknown, but as reported in The Ensign last month, the two had been called into a meeting with Mr Bell to discuss their social media presence.
It has now emerged this was alongside a specific complaint Cr Bruce allegedly used the term ‘‘gay’’ as a pejorative in a council setting.
Cr Cupit said she denied any improper conduct by herself but would not comment on any specifics, calling it disappointing and adding they ‘‘could have talked about it’’.
‘‘It’s not nice,’’ she said.
‘‘I don’t think I should say anything more until we’re further through the process and more can be said afterwards.’’
Cr Bruce was far more firm in her criticism, calling the complaints ‘‘bullying’’ and ‘‘evidence gathered over a month or so, that’s not even evidence’’.
Cr Bruce, upon being asked about the use of homophobic language, named Cr McKenzie as the person who complained and said she did not remember using the term.
‘‘It was about a presentation, I don’t even remember saying it, it wasn’t even said to a person or anything.
‘‘I do not remember saying it ... I asked for proof, there is none.’’
The current process involved lawyers at the cost of ratepayers and she did not foresee an easy path forward, Cr Bruce said.
‘‘We’re just going to go in there, hold our heads up, and do the job we were elected for.
‘‘For our ratepayers and residents.
‘‘We’re newbies.
‘‘It’s hard to say too much at this stage,’’ she said.
Mr Bell once found himself the political newcomer facing some strife around the table, but the mayor said his experiences starting out were not related to the current situation.
‘‘They’re wildly different,’’ he said.
‘‘This is a process.
‘‘We didn’t have any codes of conduct in that term, it played out in different formats and some of the parties involved have said ‘listen, we’re looking for mediation first’,’’ he said.
