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Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas ordered to apologize for a minor violation of the Local Government Act

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas ordered to apologize for a minor violation of the Local Government Act

Basil Zempilas, a liberal star candidate who has become the mayor who has become of Perth Lord, said he had been condemned to apologize for blurring the line between the two positions using his Facebook account of the town hall to promote his Wa .

But he says he will refer to a leak of the decision to the corruption guard dog.

Nine newspapers reported that the State Standard of the State Standards of the State this week revealed that Mr. Zempilas had committed a minor violation of the Local Government Act by publishing on his candidacy for the Liberal Party on a Facebook page entitled ” Basil Zempilas – Lord Mayor of Perth “.

A copy of a panel decision, seen by the ABC, confirms that she found that Mr. Zempilas had violated local authorities’ regulations “when he qualified his status as mayor of the city of Perth during the campaign for preselection as a liberal member of the lands of the Church “.

The document shows that the panel dealt with two complaints concerning “the same driving course” at the same time, noting that these were “minor” violations and forced the Lord Mayor to make public apology during a future council meeting.

Zempilas Basil speaks while holding a microphone.

Basil Zempilas wrongly posted his liberal candidacy on a Facebook page relating to his post as mayor. (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor))

It also includes a summary of the submissions to the panel of Mr. Zempilas, in which he argued that the question arose due to an “authentic ignorance” and had not been subjected to any previous complaints.

The decision is dated February 4, 2025 – The day Mr. Zempilas launched his campaign for the siege of the church lands in the elections of the state of March.

Mr. Zempilas has 28 days to appeal the decision.

“ Very serious questions ”

Mr. Zempilas confirmed these details at the ABC, adding that he had changed the name of the page as soon as he learned of the complaint and had no problem reading apologies at the next meeting of the Council .

But it feared that the information has apparently been disclosed to the media before being released through official channels.

“It is very irregular and very suspect that this information was distributed either at the same time or as it was sent to me, and well before having had the possibility of assessing it correctly,” he said .

“It raises very serious questions in my mind about what is really at stake here.

“This is a violation of the law on public sector management and a violation of the law on local authorities and it could be alleged under the legislation (Committee on corruption and crime) This violation of public sector confidentiality is a major bad behavior.

“Consequently, I will report this to the CCC and I phoned the Managing Director to ask for an explanation on the way it could be allowed to happen.”

The last annual panel report indicates that its decisions are made public after the 28 -day window to appeal to any decision at the State Administrative Court.

Leave

Under the Local Government Act, it is offense to reveal that a complaint has been filed, or any information on a complaint, until the violation has been processed – but it is not known when this point is reached.

The Ministry of the Local Government, sports and cultural industries, which is responsible for the local government standards committee, has been contacted for comments.

The potential for the line to be blurred between the role of the city of Perth by Mr. Zempilas, and his candidacy, was a frequent point of attack for the Labor Party.

“I am the Lord Mayor until I resign, so I am from the absence, but I am still the Lord Mayor,” he told ABC.

“Leave for this electoral period means that I am not involved in decision -making forums for the city.

“So, I do not attend the engagement sessions of elected members. I do not attend the information sessions of the agenda, and I do not attend the meetings of the ordinary council.”

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