Newcastle council investigation of 'derogatory' comments by Councillor Allan Robinson made public after nine months

Compiled by a consultant "workplace investigator", the report is dated October 2020, and deals with complaints dating from mid-2019.

The council dealt with the report in confidential session, so we don't know why it has taken until now for the council to decide to make the document public.

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Nor do we know why the council says it is releasing the report through the state freedom-of-information laws, the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

What we do know is that Cr Robinson said last year that he "couldn't care less" if the report was made public. He did show some contrition yesterday in comments to the Newcastle Herald, though notably he didn't offer an apology to those he'd offended personally, or to the wider community.

Unfortunately, Cr Robinson has a long track record of antagonising his political opponents with language that our modern, progressive sensibilities left behind years ago.

A big mouth might have launched the self-described larrikin jockey into the world of car-yard ads and The Footy Show, but Cr Robinson's favourite terms of abuse are a roll-call of "isms" that are as banal as they are disgusting and demeaning.

Though the councillors involved told the Herald it could publish any of the comments about them, we have chosen not to print some. Those we have printed are not published lightly but the city's ratepayers are entitled to know.

They are an embarrassment to the city he purports to serve. As is the failure of his Independent colleagues to condemn him.

At the same time, the Independents will point out that they have also been on the receiving end.

In February 2019, we reported the council's refusal to investigate how the words "John Church f...wit" were flashed on an overhead screen during a council planning workshop.

In August 2019 we reported lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes describing Cr Elliott as "a dead carcass swinging in the breeze waiting to be cut down" during a council debate.

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That the Office of Local Government chose not to intervene into the Cr Robinson matter is another sorry chapter in the saga and can only make you wonder what it considers worthy of its attention.

Ratepayers would be much happier if the opposing sides of Newcastle council accepted their differences like grown-ups, and put their efforts into running the city, and improving the lives of their ratepayers.

Something for all those putting their hand up for this city's next council to keep in mind.

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