I am proud to work at the City of Port Phillip.
Our organisation like our community is vibrant, passionate, diverse, and ambitious. We deliver over 100 highly valued programs and services to our community.
As detailed in our recent media statements, we are committed to supporting and improving community safety and are working collaboratively with Police, State Government, and other service providers to this end.
Our Councillors and Council Officers turn up each day because they are committed to community service and making our City a fantastic place to live, work, and play.
We know we don't always get things right, but we continually strive to improve.
We support people's right to voice dissatisfaction, contrary views, and to engage in robust civic debate. That is the hallmark of a healthy democracy.
But Councillors and Officers experiencing abuse, threats, and malicious personal attacks whilst fulfilling their duties is neither civilised nor healthy. It's toxic, it's disruptive to service delivery and it undermines democracy through fear of reprisals if people do not do what is demanded or dare to voice a different view. It must stop.
While there are increasing instances of this happening across all levels of our organisation, I would like to call out the recent malicious attacks on our Mayor triggered by calling out a false statement and an Executive Team member who has been unfairly mentioned on Facebook pages and linked to conspiracy theories that are utterly baseless.
Our Councillors and Officers not only deserve the right to a safe and respectful workplace but require this to continue to do their roles and serve community in the most effective and efficient way possible.
This is not about valuing staff safety more than community safety as some have alluded to in recent commentary - both are important. Many parties are involved in supporting community safety, some with much bigger influence than Council. We don't shy away from playing our part, but to do this we must ensure our staff are respected.
Everyone who works at City of Port Phillip turns up each day expecting to be safe and supported and this is their legal and moral right. We will continue to refer matters to Victoria Police and explore all mechanisms for ensuring that our people are supported and protected while they go about their important work in serving our community.
