Politics · Australia · 2 hrs ago
Probe finds Robe mayor made undermining comments about council staff
An independent investigation found Robe mayor Lisa Ruffell made undermining comments about council staff.
It found she said one staff member should return to netball and lose weight.
Investigators also found she criticised employees in public and discussed private staff matters with community members.
Ruffell strongly disputes the findings and has raised concerns about the investigation process.
The District Council of Robe will vote next week on whether to censure her; she will not take part in that discussion because of conflict of interest rules.
Robe is a regional council in South Australia, and Ruffell has been mayor since 2023.
An independent investigation found that Robe mayor Lisa Ruffell made undermining comments about council staff and discussed private employment matters in the community.
The investigation reported that Ruffell criticised staff in public, made dismissive gestures in meetings and sent rude, undermining and disrespectful emails.
Ruffell strongly disputed the findings and raised concerns about the investigation process.
The District Council of Robe is due to vote on whether to censure her at a meeting on Monday.
- Who
- Lisa Ruffell, mayor of the District Council of Robe, and council staff.
- What
- An independent investigation found Ruffell made undermining comments about staff and discussed employee matters in the community. She disputes the findings.
- When
- The report was published on Wednesday; the council is due to vote on Monday.
- Where
- Robe, on South Australia's Limestone Coast.
- Why
- The council ordered an investigation into allegations that Ruffell undermined employees' professional reputations, contributed to distress and governance instability, and created psychosocial risks for staff.
Lisa Ruffell
Independent investigation
Findings
Lisa Ruffell
Ruffell strongly disputes the findings and says the report does not adequately identify the evidence relied on.
Independent investigation
The investigation found that Ruffell made undermining comments about staff and discussed employee matters in the community.
Process
Lisa Ruffell
Ruffell says adverse witness material was not provided to her in full and has concerns about the investigation process.
Independent investigation
The investigation was conducted by independent lawyers after the council ordered it; its summary was published in council meeting papers.
Ruffell was first made aware of the allegations.
The council ordered an independent investigation into allegations against Ruffell.
The council published a summary of the investigation in papers for a special meeting.
The council is due to consider the investigation and vote on whether to censure Ruffell.
- Mayor
- Lisa Ruffell
- Council
- District Council of Robe
- Investigator
- Kelledy Jones Lawyers
- Investigation findings
- Seven-page summary
- Council vote
- Whether to censure Ruffell, at a meeting on Monday
What people are saying
I am also disappointed that the publicly available meeting papers contain only the investigator's summary, rather than the full report.
I believe the community deserves a fuller understanding of the material being relied upon.
needs to go back to netball and lose some weight