Hepburn Shire Council says it will request an urgent meeting with the Minister for Police and Minister for Local Government following an alleged attack by a member of the public on the Council’s Chief Executive Officer.
The Council last night passed an urgent motion condemning the alleged attack, which saw a cup of coffee thrown at CEO, Bradley Thomas, outside a cafe on Albert Street in Daylesford last week.
At last night’s meeting, the Council reiterated its zero-tolerance approach to any form of abuse both in person and online.
Mayor, Tony Clark said the alleged attack was unacceptable and intolerable.
“Abuse, aggressive attacks and threatening behaviour are never okay. Everyone deserves to feel safe when at work and out and about in our community,” said Mayor Clark.
“Council will request an urgent meeting between myself as Mayor, Mr Thomas, the Minister for Police and Minister for Local Government to discuss what improvements will be made to legislation to safeguard the physical and online safety of Councillors and Council officers,” he said.
The Mayor said the Council will continue to advocate to the Municipal Association of Victoria for a statewide campaign to address poor behaviour, disinformation and misinformation in our communities.
The incident was reported to Victoria Police who are investigating the matter.
The Council also resolved to request an urgent update from the Municipal Association of Victoria on its progress to address occupational violence, as passed at the October State Council Meeting.
