Ryde councillor expelled after having his say on whether locals should be allowed to have their say

“It’s disgraceful, it’s no longer going to occur.” That’s how Ryde Mayor Trenton Brown described behaviour in a heated council meeting last month, in which one councillor, Roy Maggio, was expelled from the chamber for his remarks.

At the heart of the heat was the issue of whether residents in the Ryde LGA should be allowed to address councillors during monthly meetings. Up until 2022, this was allowed. 

In the Ryde LGA, and in many other LGAs around the state, the ability for residents and ratepayers to speak to the chamber was viewed as essential to democracy. But over recent years people in the Ryde LGA have been limited to writing letters to councillors.

The council is not alone; for example, in Willoughby and Ku-ring-gai, locals with skin in the game can’t speak to the chamber. However, many councils also hold open information sessions and forums on particular issues that are expected to generate significant public interest.  

Ryde councillors voted unanimously in 2022 for this practice to be adopted, yet according to Councillor Maggio it was only meant to be on a trial basis. Mayor Brown disagrees. The motion passed at the time makes no reference to a trial period.

Maggio is adamant that public participation must return to the council agenda, and moved a motion to that effect at the most recent meeting. 

The move was thwarted, however, by an alternative motion, moved by Councillor Justin Li,  stating there was "negligible public interest in this matter”, and that council should “take no further action about this issue”.

Li’s motion was passed by 8 to 5.

Councillors in favour of retaining the status quo argued that council meetings should be reserved for decision-making.

Maggio told the Lorikeet it was his fifth motion aimed at restoring the public’s right to speak. 

“I was there defending the democratic right of the residents,” he said.

As Mayor Brown pointed out that the previous vote to remove public comments from the meetings was unanimous, Councillor Maggio attempted to raise a point of order. In the ensuing exchange, Maggio told Brown, “you never speak the truth”. 

Upon refusing to retract and apologise for this remark, among others, Maggio was expelled from the chamber.

Image: Ryde City Council, Volodymyr Hryshchenko via Unsplash