• The council says the Minister has cited meeting conduct, police involvement and councillor relationships.
• Submissions are due by Friday 6 November.

In a statement, the council said it has received correspondence from the Minister advising that he is considering using his powers under section 438I of the Local Government Act 1993 to temporarily suspend the council. The council said the Minister cited serious concerns about the conduct of council meetings, the repeated involvement of NSW Police in maintaining order, and an apparent deterioration in working relationships between councillors.

The council said Mayor Cr Susannah Pearse and Cr McGrady have called an extraordinary meeting for 12pm on Monday 2 November to consider and endorse a formal submission. The Minister will consider submissions received by 6 November before deciding whether to proceed.

The proposal was first reported by Moree Online News, which said the Office of Local Government confirmed it on Monday 26 October after enquiries about reports of a show-cause notice. If the proposal goes ahead, the councillors would be suspended from their governing roles for three months, and an interim administrator would take over the council’s governing responsibilities for that period.

If a suspension is ordered, it would be the second NSW council suspended in recent weeks, following the Minister’s decision on 15 October to suspend Clarence Valley Council for three months.

Separately, 7NEWS reported on a recent Council meeting at which police were called after Cr Kelly James refused to stop livestreaming or leave the chamber. According to 7NEWS, the livestream breached the council’s Code of Meeting Practice, the meeting was adjourned for about 40 minutes, and it was the fifth time this year Cr James has been expelled from a meeting. She said in the livestream that she believed the meeting minutes were being changed. That claim is hers and has not been verified by Local Government News Roundup.

The council’s statement does not refer to any specific meeting or incident.