NSW Shadow Local Government Minister Greg Warren has called on Port Stephens mayor Ryan Palmer to apologise to a councillor unlawfully removed from a council meeting under police escort in December.
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"I think councillor Giacomo Arnott's request for an apology is entirely appropriate, and I call on Mayor Palmer to do the decent thing, take it on the chin and correct the record," Mr Warren said during a visit to Port Stephens.
"We don't want to see a situation in any local government area where councillors are expelled against the rules and the police are used to escort them off the premises.
"This isn't a trivial issue and no mayor or councillor is above the law."
Office of Local Government deputy secretary Tim Hurst upheld Cr Arnott's complaint that he was unlawfully removed from the council meeting on December 10 after Cr Palmer accused him of "disorderly conduct", which was defined by Cr Palmer as "pulling faces and making smart arse remarks".
After viewing the council's webcast and reading the meeting minutes Mr Hurst also backed Cr Arnott's position that he had not been disorderly in questioning Cr Palmer over the procedural matter that led to his expulsion.
The council has not corrected a statement on its website about the December 10 incident, or provided a new statement recording the results of the Office of Local Government investigation.
Cr Arnott said he had asked for an apology and for the meeting minutes to be changed.
Port Stephens MP Kate Washington accused the council of being a "repeat offender when it comes to ignoring rulings from the Office of Local Government".
The council failed to apologise to the late councillor Geoff Dingle in 2017 after the Office of Local Government found there was no basis for a code of conduct complaint against Cr Dingle that was improperly investigated, and later leaked to the media.
"Now we have the mayor failing to apologise after the council unlawfully expelled a democratically-elected councillor," Ms Washington said.
She accused the council of abusing its power and expelling a councillor who the Office of Local Government found was performing his duties.
Cr Arnott said debates in the council could be robust and mistakes could be made.
"Clearly the mayor made a mistake. The decent thing for him to do is correct the record and apologise so everyone can move on," Cr Arnott said.
"We don't live in North Korea. The leader doesn't get to interpret laws to suit themselves."
The council did not respond to questions.
Cr Palmer did not respond to a request for comment. In December he said the issue of an apology to Cr Arnott was "up to myself".