By Tim Howard
Clarence Valley Mayor Ray Smith has hit back at what he called a “blatant misuse of parliamentary privilege” following a scathing speech about his council’s performance in the NSW Parliament last week.
Speaking at a volatile extraordinary meeting on Monday night, Cr Smith tabled a Mayoral Minute condemning comments by NSW Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn, who used parliamentary privilege on October 23 to allege misconduct and dysfunction within Clarence Valley Council.
Cr Smith said Dr Cohn’s claims—based on discussions she confirmed having with Deputy Mayor Greg Clancy—were “unsubstantiated allegations” and “totally irresponsible,” adding that only the mayor is empowered to speak for the council.
He said he would lodge a formal Citizen’s Right of Reply with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to correct the record and “ensure that Parliament has on record the achievements of Clarence Valley Council under the general manager.”
The Mayoral Minute also called on councillors to support a complaint to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee over Dr Cohn’s conduct, alleging she failed to check facts, contradicted matters before the courts, and “demonstrated a lack of understanding of the democratic process of local government.”
The meeting—called solely by the mayor—descended into disorder almost immediately.
General manager Laura Black declared a conflict of interest as the discussion concerned her performance and left the chamber, prompting an outburst from a member of the gallery that forced a 15-minute adjournment.
Two members of the public were later named and ejected, while deputy mayor Greg Clancy questioned whether the meeting was lawful, arguing that under the Code of Meeting Practice two councillors must sign a request for an extraordinary meeting.
Cr Smith dismissed the claim, saying “there is nothing in the code preventing the mayor from calling a meeting.”
Cr Clancy and Cr Lynne Cairns then left the chamber, briefly sat in the gallery and departed soon after.
But their votes were recorded from the gallery in support of an amendment from Cr Cristie Yager.
The remaining councillors voted to support the mayor’s motion, with only Cr Yager moving an amendment to restate the council’s legal duty to hold its general manager to account.
The amendment, passed unanimously, and incorporated into the final resolution, overwrote a call for unconditional support for the general manager.
In a heartfelt speech, Cr Yager said she would “always fight for truth and fairness and accountability,” warning that the chamber had become divided by “tit-for-tat politics.”
“We must begin from an honest and decent place,” she said. “Let’s make this the first step in moving forward to address the issues before us in a professional, democratic and respectful way.”
Cr Peter Johnstone followed with an extended address defending the council’s record and the general manager, arguing that Dr Cohn’s speech was “inaccurate, unjust and biased” and that her allegations were based on one-sided information.
Cr Johnstone also produced a letter from the OLG Deputy Secretary Brett Whitworth, dated November 21, 2023, recording “it was the Office of Local Government’s understanding that the action taken under the Defamation Act has been undertaken at the General Manager’s personal expense and that the council has not contributed to the cost of that action.”
Both Cr Cairns and YambaCAN chair Col Shephard, are on the record as saying they have not received personal concerns notices from Ms Black.
The only documents they have seen refer to Clarence Valley Council as the client and YambaCAN as the respondent.
Monday’s proceedings continued a pattern of volatility at Clarence Valley Council meetings this year, with repeated disputes over legal advice, confidential documents and the handling of code of conduct complaints.
The divisions have widened since a series of extraordinary meetings in June, when councillors clashed over the eviction of long-term residents from council-owned caravan parks and questions about the council’s legal authority to do so.
Cr Smith ended the meeting by reaffirming his “full support” for general manager Laura Black, who has faced sustained criticism from some councillors and community members over transparency and governance issues.
Despite the heated exchanges, the mayor said he hoped council could “move forward without negative distractions and focus on our real objective of creating a community of opportunity.”
The council recorded a vote of 7-2 in favour of the amended mayoral minute, however, Crs Clancy and Cairns said they had abstained from voting on the motion and had left the chamber.
