Suspended Mayor says he has been subjected to harassment in the workplace and a character assassination by political rivals, after an independent arbiter found he engaged in misconduct for calling his predecessor a “raging lunatic” in a social media post.
In a statement, Gilligan says he wanted to provide context “which isn’t reflected in the arbiter’s decision”, including that McAliney “is a long-time political rival and Labor factional foe” of his.
Gilligan was suspended for 30 days and ordered to apologise to former three-term mayor Kim McAliney after his September 2025 Facebook post was found to have breached the Councillor Code of Conduct.
“Over the last five years, I’ve been subjected to behaviours that are unacceptable in any modern workplace, including being physically confronted at a public venue, and being obsessively questioned about my professional integrity.”
“These are not behaviours that should be accepted as something that Councillors should tolerate as part of their role,” Gilligan said in his statement.
“If the standards were applied consistently across all levels of government, many politicians would be clearing out their desks,” he said.
Gilligan said he will respect and abide by the decision and that he was not permitted to appeal the decision.
In his mandated apology, the suspended mayor says his comments fell short of the code of conduct and “thus should not have been said”.
Gilligan was also investigated twice for misconduct in 2022. He was not sanctioned at the time, but the arbiter in the 2022 finding warned: “If this behaviour continued … a sanction would be appropriate.”
