Councillors who quit embattled City of South Perth make explosive claims about culture, personal attacks

Former councillors who quit the embattled City of South Perth have blamed a hostile culture where they were subjected to personal attacks if they raised differing views for their exit.

Bronwyn Waugh, Tim Houweling and Hayley Prendiville — who all resigned from the council last month — released a joint statement with previous councillors Glenn Cridland, Jennifer Nevard and Nic Coveney on Monday, saying the situation was untenable.

The elected members have all departed in the past year, sparking calls for an independent inquiry into the dysfunctional council.

“Over the past year or so, you have witnessed several elected members resign (or not return) from their position on Council. While each of us arrived at that decision independently, we feel a responsibility to explain to you why we were unable to continue in our roles,” their statement reads.

“We believe that serving on Council is a privilege. It is a role that requires collaboration, mutual respect, accountability and a commitment to acting in the best interests of the community.

“While there have been many positive achievements during our time on Council, we became increasingly concerned about the governance environment, the effectiveness of decision-making processes, and the ability of elected members to work together constructively.”

The statement claims the decision of the councillors to walk away from serving the community, was not driven by a single individual or event but by a growing sense that they could no longer effectively perform their duties.

“We felt that respectful disagreement was being replaced by division, confrontation and personal conflict,” it states.

“Raising concerns, asking difficult questions, or expressing alternative viewpoints often came at a personal cost. The cumulative effect of this environment took a toll on our wellbeing and our ability to serve the community with confidence.

“Several of us reached the point where we no longer felt psychologically safe participating in the Council in the manner expected of elected representatives.”

The precarious state of the South Perth council flared again on Friday when councillor Jacqueline Raison announced she was resigning “effective immediately”.

Just half of the council remains, including councillors Stephen Russell, André Brender-A-Brandis, Blake D’Souza and Kathy Lees, although two newcomers will be sworn in Thursday. By elections will likely be needed to fill the remaining two vacancies.

Concerns around the psychology safety at the council have been ongoing since March when newly appointed CEO Liz Ledger walked out on stress leave just three months into the job.

Ms Ledger, who has more than two and half decades of Local Government experience, was appointed to the role to turn around the dysfunction at the problem plagued council.

Her swift exit came as Mayor Greg Milner moved an urgent motion at a council meeting to block the CEO from engaging independent experts to assess the psychological risks at the embattled city.

At the same time that Ms Ledger walked, newly appointed corporate services director Bree Websdale also went on stress leave - both have still not returned to work.

The West Australian has also been contacted by several former governance and administration staff who say they were forced to resign because of the unsafe and inappropriate conduct occurring at the city.

In May, Local Government Inspector Tony Brown was forced to extend the term of the city’s Monitor Gail McGowan amid the growing problems.

Mr Brown has resisted calls from former councillors to hold an inquiry into the City of South Perth.