'Deeply disrespectful': Kerridge supporters hit back at Clausen 'conspiratorial' claims
Our Newcastle, a grassroots group formally formed during the 2024 Newcastle council government elections, supported Cr Kerridge in his successful campaign for lord mayor.
At last week's council meeting, Cr Clausen described those involved in the help session as having "conspiratorial views", believing "some malfeasance" in the Newcastle council.
Our Newcastle has refuted the claims, saying it held the January 23 session to support community members, particularly those who were older and needed technical assistance to prepare and lodge submissions to the Davidson Business Advisory review.
"We are disappointed by recent comments made by Cr Declan Clausen, who questioned the 'appropriateness' of our sessions and described those involved as holding 'conspiratorial views'," Our Newcastle president Leisha Parkinson said in a statement.
"Those remarks are not only unfounded but deeply disrespectful to the many older residents who simply sought help navigating an online process in order to express their views, something they have every right to do.
"Increasingly, we are seeing a pattern in Newcastle politics where those who hold views different to the Labor councillors are dismissed as 'conspiratorial' or accused of spreading 'misinformation'."
The statement went on to say that Labor councillors are "not the sole arbitrators of truth in our city".
Ms Parkinson stood for a position on Newcastle council in Ward 2 on the Our Newcastle independent ticket.
More than 840 submissions were made to the Davidson review into the council's policies, processes and procedures.
Almost 30 submissions were made about a perceived lack of respect among councillors, including towards the lord mayor.
Cr Clausen said on Tuesday that Our Newcastle had misrepresented his position and the nature of his remarks.
"I did raise concerns during the council meeting about the secret Our Newcastle letter-writing sessions," he said.
"It is entirely appropriate to question whether a secretive political group holding private letter-writing sessions tried to unduly influence the outcome of the Davidson review."
Cr Clausen said that if Labor, the Liberal Party or the Greens organised similar sessions, he suspected there would be "loud public outcries" condemning the action and said Our Newcastle should be held to the same standard.
He went on to say the level of "unsolicited coaching" in the submission-writing session remains unanswered.
The Newcastle Herald is aware of only one help session being held on January 23.
Ms Parkinson maintains the session was open to all and "strictly non-partisan".
"At no point did we influence or advise participants on what to write, nor did we question the content of their submissions," she said.
"Our sole aim was to ensure that everyone in Newcastle had the opportunity to contribute freely and independently, without barriers due to technology or access."
Cr Clausen said he fully supported community engagement, including providing help to those who needed it to ensure their views were considered.
"The issue in this case was not whether the public should be supported, it was whether a single party-political group with strong pre-existing views should be positioning themselves as a neutral provider of that support," he said.
Cr Kerridge has denied attending the help session and has said he was not involved in its organisation.
An email written under the Our Newcastle letterhead invited recipients to drop in if they would like help with their submission or to chat through their ideas.
The letter requested recipients to tell Our Newcastle when they had made a submission.
Ms Parkinson said Our Newcastle believed support should have been provided by the council to make submissions, particularly for those with limited technological literacy.
"Ensuring members of our community can participate in local democracy is a basic responsibility of good governance," she said.
Ms Parkinson went on to accuse Labor councillors of a "broader pattern of ageism" including "repeated derogatory references to the lord mayor's age".
"These are not only inappropriate but appear intended to dismiss and silence the voices of older residents," she said.
"We believe that every person-young or old, deserves a place in our political conversation."
The Newcastle Herald asked for clarification about comments Our Newcastle claims Labor councillors have made about the lord mayor's age.
In response, Ms Parkinson referred to a comment made by Cr Clausen on one of his Facebook posts 39 weeks ago that said, "For too long, local government in NSW has been 'male, pale and stale'".
Cr Clausen said he did not believe he had ever made a comment about the lord mayor's age, derogatory or otherwise.
"The lord mayor has never raised any such concern with me," he said. "I also raise the irony of this line of criticism from Our Newcastle."
Cr Clausen said both the lord mayor and the Herald's Facebook pages continue to include comments by members of the public describing him as a "boy" and "kid".
"I am the longest-serving councillor in our chamber, having served on council for over a decade, and for seven consecutive years as the deputy lord mayor," he said.
"Newly-elected councillors, regardless of their age, could benefit from listening to others with more experience."
ROSS Kerridge's supporters have hit back at Declan Clausen after the Labor councillor publicly questioned the "appropriateness" of a submission-writing help session the lord mayor's Our Newcastle team held during an independent council inquiry.
Our Newcastle, a grassroots group formally formed during the 2024 Newcastle council government elections, supported Cr Kerridge in his successful campaign for lord mayor.
At last week's council meeting, Cr Clausen described those involved in the help session as having "conspiratorial views", believing "some malfeasance" in the Newcastle council.
Our Newcastle has refuted the claims, saying it held the January 23 session to support community members, particularly those who were older and needed technical assistance to prepare and lodge submissions to the Davidson Business Advisory review.
"We are disappointed by recent comments made by Cr Declan Clausen, who questioned the 'appropriateness' of our sessions and described those involved as holding 'conspiratorial views'," Our Newcastle president Leisha Parkinson said in a statement.
"Those remarks are not only unfounded but deeply disrespectful to the many older residents who simply sought help navigating an online process in order to express their views, something they have every right to do.
"Increasingly, we are seeing a pattern in Newcastle politics where those who hold views different to the Labor councillors are dismissed as 'conspiratorial' or accused of spreading 'misinformation'."
The statement went on to say that Labor councillors are "not the sole arbitrators of truth in our city".
Ms Parkinson stood for a position on Newcastle council in Ward 2 on the Our Newcastle independent ticket.
More than 840 submissions were made to the Davidson review into the council's policies, processes and procedures.
Almost 30 submissions were made about a perceived lack of respect among councillors, including towards the lord mayor.
Cr Clausen said on Tuesday that Our Newcastle had misrepresented his position and the nature of his remarks.
"I did raise concerns during the council meeting about the secret Our Newcastle letter-writing sessions," he said.
"It is entirely appropriate to question whether a secretive political group holding private letter-writing sessions tried to unduly influence the outcome of the Davidson review."
Cr Clausen said that if Labor, the Liberal Party or the Greens organised similar sessions, he suspected there would be "loud public outcries" condemning the action and said Our Newcastle should be held to the same standard.
He went on to say the level of "unsolicited coaching" in the submission-writing session remains unanswered.
The Newcastle Herald is aware of only one help session being held on January 23.
Ms Parkinson maintains the session was open to all and "strictly non-partisan".
"At no point did we influence or advise participants on what to write, nor did we question the content of their submissions," she said.
"Our sole aim was to ensure that everyone in Newcastle had the opportunity to contribute freely and independently, without barriers due to technology or access."
Cr Clausen said he fully supported community engagement, including providing help to those who needed it to ensure their views were considered.
"The issue in this case was not whether the public should be supported, it was whether a single party-political group with strong pre-existing views should be positioning themselves as a neutral provider of that support," he said.
Cr Kerridge has denied attending the help session and has said he was not involved in its organisation.
An email written under the Our Newcastle letterhead invited recipients to drop in if they would like help with their submission or to chat through their ideas.
The letter requested recipients to tell Our Newcastle when they had made a submission.
Ms Parkinson said Our Newcastle believed support should have been provided by the council to make submissions, particularly for those with limited technological literacy.
"Ensuring members of our community can participate in local democracy is a basic responsibility of good governance," she said.
Ms Parkinson went on to accuse Labor councillors of a "broader pattern of ageism" including "repeated derogatory references to the lord mayor's age".
"These are not only inappropriate but appear intended to dismiss and silence the voices of older residents," she said.
"We believe that every person-young or old, deserves a place in our political conversation."
The Newcastle Herald asked for clarification about comments Our Newcastle claims Labor councillors have made about the lord mayor's age.
In response, Ms Parkinson referred to a comment made by Cr Clausen on one of his Facebook posts 39 weeks ago that said, "For too long, local government in NSW has been 'male, pale and stale'".
Cr Clausen said he did not believe he had ever made a comment about the lord mayor's age, derogatory or otherwise.
"The lord mayor has never raised any such concern with me," he said. "I also raise the irony of this line of criticism from Our Newcastle."
Cr Clausen said both the lord mayor and the Herald's Facebook pages continue to include comments by members of the public describing him as a "boy" and "kid".
"I am the longest-serving councillor in our chamber, having served on council for over a decade, and for seven consecutive years as the deputy lord mayor," he said.
"Newly-elected councillors, regardless of their age, could benefit from listening to others with more experience."
ROSS Kerridge's supporters have hit back at Declan Clausen after the Labor councillor publicly questioned the "appropriateness" of a submission-writing help session the lord mayor's Our Newcastle team held during an independent council inquiry.
Our Newcastle, a grassroots group formally formed during the 2024 Newcastle council government elections, supported Cr Kerridge in his successful campaign for lord mayor.
At last week's council meeting, Cr Clausen described those involved in the help session as having "conspiratorial views", believing "some malfeasance" in the Newcastle council.
Our Newcastle has refuted the claims, saying it held the January 23 session to support community members, particularly those who were older and needed technical assistance to prepare and lodge submissions to the Davidson Business Advisory review.
"We are disappointed by recent comments made by Cr Declan Clausen, who questioned the 'appropriateness' of our sessions and described those involved as holding 'conspiratorial views'," Our Newcastle president Leisha Parkinson said in a statement.
"Those remarks are not only unfounded but deeply disrespectful to the many older residents who simply sought help navigating an online process in order to express their views, something they have every right to do.
"Increasingly, we are seeing a pattern in Newcastle politics where those who hold views different to the Labor councillors are dismissed as 'conspiratorial' or accused of spreading 'misinformation'."
The statement went on to say that Labor councillors are "not the sole arbitrators of truth in our city".
Ms Parkinson stood for a position on Newcastle council in Ward 2 on the Our Newcastle independent ticket.
More than 840 submissions were made to the Davidson review into the council's policies, processes and procedures.
Almost 30 submissions were made about a perceived lack of respect among councillors, including towards the lord mayor.
Cr Clausen said on Tuesday that Our Newcastle had misrepresented his position and the nature of his remarks.
"I did raise concerns during the council meeting about the secret Our Newcastle letter-writing sessions," he said.
"It is entirely appropriate to question whether a secretive political group holding private letter-writing sessions tried to unduly influence the outcome of the Davidson review."
Cr Clausen said that if Labor, the Liberal Party or the Greens organised similar sessions, he suspected there would be "loud public outcries" condemning the action and said Our Newcastle should be held to the same standard.
He went on to say the level of "unsolicited coaching" in the submission-writing session remains unanswered.
The Newcastle Herald is aware of only one help session being held on January 23.
Ms Parkinson maintains the session was open to all and "strictly non-partisan".
"At no point did we influence or advise participants on what to write, nor did we question the content of their submissions," she said.
"Our sole aim was to ensure that everyone in Newcastle had the opportunity to contribute freely and independently, without barriers due to technology or access."
Cr Clausen said he fully supported community engagement, including providing help to those who needed it to ensure their views were considered.
"The issue in this case was not whether the public should be supported, it was whether a single party-political group with strong pre-existing views should be positioning themselves as a neutral provider of that support," he said.
Cr Kerridge has denied attending the help session and has said he was not involved in its organisation.
An email written under the Our Newcastle letterhead invited recipients to drop in if they would like help with their submission or to chat through their ideas.
The letter requested recipients to tell Our Newcastle when they had made a submission.
Ms Parkinson said Our Newcastle believed support should have been provided by the council to make submissions, particularly for those with limited technological literacy.
"Ensuring members of our community can participate in local democracy is a basic responsibility of good governance," she said.
Ms Parkinson went on to accuse Labor councillors of a "broader pattern of ageism" including "repeated derogatory references to the lord mayor's age".
"These are not only inappropriate but appear intended to dismiss and silence the voices of older residents," she said.
"We believe that every person-young or old, deserves a place in our political conversation."
The Newcastle Herald asked for clarification about comments Our Newcastle claims Labor councillors have made about the lord mayor's age.
In response, Ms Parkinson referred to a comment made by Cr Clausen on one of his Facebook posts 39 weeks ago that said, "For too long, local government in NSW has been 'male, pale and stale'".
Cr Clausen said he did not believe he had ever made a comment about the lord mayor's age, derogatory or otherwise.
"The lord mayor has never raised any such concern with me," he said. "I also raise the irony of this line of criticism from Our Newcastle."
Cr Clausen said both the lord mayor and the Herald's Facebook pages continue to include comments by members of the public describing him as a "boy" and "kid".
"I am the longest-serving councillor in our chamber, having served on council for over a decade, and for seven consecutive years as the deputy lord mayor," he said.
"Newly-elected councillors, regardless of their age, could benefit from listening to others with more experience."
ROSS Kerridge's supporters have hit back at Declan Clausen after the Labor councillor publicly questioned the "appropriateness" of a submission-writing help session the lord mayor's Our Newcastle team held during an independent council inquiry.
Our Newcastle, a grassroots group formally formed during the 2024 Newcastle council government elections, supported Cr Kerridge in his successful campaign for lord mayor.
At last week's council meeting, Cr Clausen described those involved in the help session as having "conspiratorial views", believing "some malfeasance" in the Newcastle council.
Our Newcastle has refuted the claims, saying it held the January 23 session to support community members, particularly those who were older and needed technical assistance to prepare and lodge submissions to the Davidson Business Advisory review.
"We are disappointed by recent comments made by Cr Declan Clausen, who questioned the 'appropriateness' of our sessions and described those involved as holding 'conspiratorial views'," Our Newcastle president Leisha Parkinson said in a statement.
"Those remarks are not only unfounded but deeply disrespectful to the many older residents who simply sought help navigating an online process in order to express their views, something they have every right to do.
"Increasingly, we are seeing a pattern in Newcastle politics where those who hold views different to the Labor councillors are dismissed as 'conspiratorial' or accused of spreading 'misinformation'."
The statement went on to say that Labor councillors are "not the sole arbitrators of truth in our city".
Ms Parkinson stood for a position on Newcastle council in Ward 2 on the Our Newcastle independent ticket.
More than 840 submissions were made to the Davidson review into the council's policies, processes and procedures.
Almost 30 submissions were made about a perceived lack of respect among councillors, including towards the lord mayor.
Cr Clausen said on Tuesday that Our Newcastle had misrepresented his position and the nature of his remarks.
"I did raise concerns during the council meeting about the secret Our Newcastle letter-writing sessions," he said.
"It is entirely appropriate to question whether a secretive political group holding private letter-writing sessions tried to unduly influence the outcome of the Davidson review."
Cr Clausen said that if Labor, the Liberal Party or the Greens organised similar sessions, he suspected there would be "loud public outcries" condemning the action and said Our Newcastle should be held to the same standard.
He went on to say the level of "unsolicited coaching" in the submission-writing session remains unanswered.
The Newcastle Herald is aware of only one help session being held on January 23.
Ms Parkinson maintains the session was open to all and "strictly non-partisan".
"At no point did we influence or advise participants on what to write, nor did we question the content of their submissions," she said.
"Our sole aim was to ensure that everyone in Newcastle had the opportunity to contribute freely and independently, without barriers due to technology or access."
Cr Clausen said he fully supported community engagement, including providing help to those who needed it to ensure their views were considered.
"The issue in this case was not whether the public should be supported, it was whether a single party-political group with strong pre-existing views should be positioning themselves as a neutral provider of that support," he said.
Cr Kerridge has denied attending the help session and has said he was not involved in its organisation.
An email written under the Our Newcastle letterhead invited recipients to drop in if they would like help with their submission or to chat through their ideas.
The letter requested recipients to tell Our Newcastle when they had made a submission.
Ms Parkinson said Our Newcastle believed support should have been provided by the council to make submissions, particularly for those with limited technological literacy.
"Ensuring members of our community can participate in local democracy is a basic responsibility of good governance," she said.
Ms Parkinson went on to accuse Labor councillors of a "broader pattern of ageism" including "repeated derogatory references to the lord mayor's age".
"These are not only inappropriate but appear intended to dismiss and silence the voices of older residents," she said.
"We believe that every person-young or old, deserves a place in our political conversation."
The Newcastle Herald asked for clarification about comments Our Newcastle claims Labor councillors have made about the lord mayor's age.
In response, Ms Parkinson referred to a comment made by Cr Clausen on one of his Facebook posts 39 weeks ago that said, "For too long, local government in NSW has been 'male, pale and stale'".
Cr Clausen said he did not believe he had ever made a comment about the lord mayor's age, derogatory or otherwise.
"The lord mayor has never raised any such concern with me," he said. "I also raise the irony of this line of criticism from Our Newcastle."
Cr Clausen said both the lord mayor and the Herald's Facebook pages continue to include comments by members of the public describing him as a "boy" and "kid".
"I am the longest-serving councillor in our chamber, having served on council for over a decade, and for seven consecutive years as the deputy lord mayor," he said.
"Newly-elected councillors, regardless of their age, could benefit from listening to others with more experience."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
31 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Fast approvals only add to housing construction logjam
Adding new housing projects to Australia's already swollen pipeline has been likened to turning the "tap on a bath that is already full", as analysis shows faster approvals are no silver bullet in fixing the nation's crisis. Data from property research firm Cotality shows approvals could move higher in the coming months due to rezoning reforms and incentives for new builds coinciding with falling interest rates. But rather than fix the shortage of homes, it could cause a problem for the construction industry by adding new projects to an already long list. "It's like turning up the tap on a bath that is already full," said the analysis from head of research Eliza Owen. It found delivery to be the problem, not approvals, with 219,000 homes under construction and completion times ballooning. "The real bottleneck lies in the build phase, not planning reform," the analysis said. The federal government's goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years, adopted in August 2023, is thought of as unachievable by the industry. "With completion times already above average, and construction costs elevated, it seems an odd time to be incentivising more dwelling approvals and commencements to the backlog of work to be done," the report stated. Ahead of the Albanese government's national productivity summit later this month, the report calls for a move away from demand stimulation to sustainable delivery. "Making homes faster and cheaper to build, while still maintaining quality, resilient homes is the key challenge for policymakers to focus on right now," the report reads. Labor's massive election win has prompted union bosses to call for the government to revisit potential changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions. But proposals to scale back the tax deduction is tricky for the government, after Labor took reforms for negative gearing to the 2019 federal election and lost. Negative gearing allows investors to claim deductions on losses and the capital gains tax discount halves the tax paid by Australians who sell assets owned for 12 months or more. The analysis says if governments are serious about delivering on the housing target, they "must focus on building capacity, lifting productivity, and ensuring every approved home actually gets built".
The Age
31 minutes ago
- The Age
Labor had a work-from-home plan for the election. Dutton announced his first
Labor considered a policy to protect working-from-home rights before the May federal election but abandoned the push to avoid taking attention from then-opposition leader Peter Dutton's unpopular plan to call public servants back to the office. Two federal sources confirmed to this masthead that the idea of protecting people who work remotely from career penalties was floated within Labor before the election, building on the government's 2023 changes that gave employees a legal right to ask to work from home. The revelation that federal Labor saw the policy as a potential vote-winner comes after Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan pledged to give workers in her state the right to work from home at least two days a week in an attempt to reach frustrated voters before the state election this year. Allan's plan has divided opinion, with business groups saying the proposal is a top-down intervention into workplaces that will frustrate career development and hamper productivity, while tech bosses and unions said working from home was useful. Federal Labor's plan never became written party policy, but would have differed from Allan's because it was intended to focus on protecting against discrimination for people who choose not to be based in an office. The Coalition, under Dutton, announced in early March that it would force public servants, many of whom work from home at least some of the time, to return to the office five days a week. The Liberal leader was forced to backflip on his policy a month later because of its unpopularity. 'The new proposal was no longer needed because of Dutton,' a government source said on the condition of anonymity. Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil backed Allan's proposal but stopped short of suggesting there was a federal need for new work-from-home laws. 'We do think that given we've got the flexible work rights in the Fair Work Act, it's important to see how those are operating and that they're operating in an effective and fair way,' she said.
The Age
31 minutes ago
- The Age
Allan's working-from-home push is an affront and a furphy
Premier Jacinta Allan can paint her latest foray into workplace relations any colour she chooses, but there is an overarching image that emerges. That is, this is at best good politics, not good policy. At last weekend's Victorian Labor state conference, Allan unveiled the government's new policy of seeking to enshrine in law a right for workers in the public or the private sector to work from home two days a week where reasonable. It would be the first such policy by a state. Self-evidently, that right could not extend to jobs that need to be performed on-site, such as emergency services. Consultation will be led by the Department of Premier and Cabinet. In spruiking the policy, Allan said it was good for families and the economy. 'If you can do your job from home, we'll make it your right – because we're on your side,' she said. There is no doubt there has been a revolution in working arrangements wrought by COVID-19. The workplace is a much more flexible environment than pre-pandemic, a development that has created opportunities for many people, especially those with caring responsibilities and disabilities. Loading The Australian Bureau of Statistics says about a third of the nation's employees work from home for part of the week. The premier could be seen to be merely acknowledging this trend and seeking to cement it into law. She could also be seen to be grasping at a distraction that will avert critical eyes from the performance of her government amid some controversial cuts as its strained budget position bites. If the plan puts pressure on the Liberals to declare their position with an election due next year, that could only be seen as a bonus. Federal Labor at this year's election was the beneficiary of Peter Dutton's ill-thought-out plan to force public servants back to the office. As The Age reports today, Labor considered new federal laws in this space – as it is entitled to do. The intervention of the Victorian government into the relationship between employer and employee seems more like Dutton's intervention but in the opposite direction. Businesses are not the same, and to bring into law a right to work from home two days a week without regard to the particular circumstances of a business is wrong. As an aside, how was two days arrived at? Allan hasn't said. How the policy would become a reality is not clear either. Victoria referred its powers to regulate private sector workplaces to the federal jurisdiction decades ago. The Age has reported warnings, as has The Australian Financial Review, from legal experts that the proposal would almost certainly fall foul of Section 109 of the Constitution, that is, if state and federal law cover the same area, federal law prevails. If the Victorian parliament enacts work-from-home legislation, this would be ripe for a High Court challenge.
