Hoooooo boy. This one’s got a fair bit of perverse joy in it, just as a head’s up.
The highly controversial, hugely flashy, unusually-visible-for-a-local-council-member Salim Mehajer has been slapped with a four-month suspension by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal after it found he was in breach of the Local Government Act.
The Auburn Council Deputy Mayor will be removed from his duties in public office, after the board found he had failed to declare a pecuniary interest on three different occasions.
Mehajer’s property development company owns a building at 3 Mary Street, and Mehajer himself voted to approve a building proposal that increased the floor space ratio of the building – as well as its heigh – in a decision that added an extra $1million to the property’s value.
In not declaring his personal financial interest, the tribunal ruled that Mehajer had committed an “extremely serious” breach of the Local Government Act.
The ban puts his entire political career into serious jeopardy – one that, at one point, had him claiming an ambition to eventually become Prime Minister – particularly given that Auburn Council as a whole is under investigation and likely to be sacked as early as next week, as well as the fact that the council is earmarked for a merger with the neighbouring Holroyd Council under NSW Premier Mike Baird‘s sweeping local council reforms.
Speaking to media outside the hearing, the flashy Mehajer remained as defiant as ever.
“The only persons affected by this suspension is the community. An appeal and stay will be underway for the sake of my constituents.”
Cool story, Hansel.
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
