Liverpool Council has started 2016 with a bang – one of its councillors was kicked out of the first meeting of the year.
What was at times more slanging match than an orderly council meeting, it climaxed when Liberal councillor Peter Ristevski was sensationally expelled by the mayor – and fellow Liberal – Ned Mannoun.
“I am expelling you for the rest of the meeting,’’ was the mayor’s reply when Cr Ristevski asked how long he was being expelled for.
The rest of the councillors could only look on as Mayor Mannoun and Cr Ristevski engaged in a robust exchange about the legal merits of an urgency motion.
At times the exchange turned into a slanging match, with both interrupting each other.
Another Liberal councillor, Mazhar Hadid, intervened to forcefully remind Crs Mannoun and Ristevski they weren’t the only councillors at the meeting.
Cr Ristevski had proposed the urgency motion, in which he called for a vote of no confidence in both the council CEO, Mr Carl Wulff and the Mayor.
The mayor ruled the motion out of order as it dealt with a staff matter – the CEO.
Cr Ristevski then asked for a vote on a motion of dissent of the mayor’s ruling and this was duly passed by the council.
This was all happening as part of the debate on a rescission motion regarding plans to call for tenders for council’s cleaning contract.
Both the cleaning staff of council and their union are bitterly opposed to this move and some of them were in the chamber tonight.
They cheered when council supported the rescission motion tonight.
But when Cr Ristevski then again tried to have a vote on his no confidence motion, the mayor warned him that he was breaching procedural fairness rules.
When Cr Ristevski persisted, Mayor Mannoun stood up, told his Liberal colleague to stop interrupting him and then expelled him from the chamber.
The decision to go to tender for council’s cleaning services was made in December last year but it was proposed months before that and the staff have been fighting it ever since.
Council claims it could save up to $500,000 if it went to the market but that won’t happen now.
The trouble started when Cr Ristevski suggested savings could be found elsewhere, including getting rid of the mayor’s advisers.
Both the mayor and Mr Wulff rebuffed Cr Ristevski, saying that the mayor did not have any advisers.
Cr Ristevski told the South West Voice after the meeting that “this thing is far from over.’’
“There will be a few rescission motions lodged for the next meeting,’’ Cr Ristevski said.
