During a last-minute meeting councillors Josh Gilligan, Heather Marcus and Mia Shaw, said unvaxxed councillors posed a serious risk to the health and safety of council and staff.The motion, believed to be the first in Victoria, was passed 6-5.Council’s boss will now need to confirm the vaccination status of its 11 councillors and publish names of double vaccinated councillors on Wyndham’s website by December 2. The Wyndham CEO Stephen Wall will also write to the Local Government Minister requesting he stand down any unvaccinated councillor to protect staff, councillors and the community and “signal that being unvaccinated and holding elected office is untenable”.It is not clear which councillors, if any, are unvaccinated, however at the start of the meeting mayor Peter Maynard asked councillors not to “individualise or personalise” their comments.Cr Adele Hegedich said it was “absurd” elected officials in local governments had been ignored by the Victorian Government. “While there are rules for our staff and rules for members of parliament, there are no rules for councillors,” she said. “We need to seek clarity from the chief health officer and Local Government Minister.”Cr Shaw said it would be hypocritical for councillors to not take a stand against an unnamed and unvaccinated councillor who was prepared to “put at risk the health and safety of council and staff”.“Hospitality, business, state governments and other industries have had to adjust to the mandatory vaccine requirement,” she said.“Councillors believe the same suspension powers should be extended to local government. “Other councils will be following our lead when it comes to this motion tonight.”Councillors Mia Shaw, Heather Marcus, Susan McIntyre, Adele Hegedich, Josh Gilligan and Jennie Barrera voted in support of the motion while mayor Peter Maynard, deputy mayor Jasmine Hill and councillors Sahana Ramesh, Marcel Mahfoud, and Robert Szatkowski voted against it.Cr Josh Gilligan said the “silence” from those opposing the motion was a sad indictment on those councillors. “People died because of this virus,” he said. “Last year we had to hear the personal stories of people impacted by this virus … it’s absolutely critical that this council stands up and sends a message to our community.”In October, Victoria became the first state to bar unvaccinated MPs from parliament, after a new law was passed on October 14 requiring MPs and their staff show proof of their vaccination status or be excluded from the building.Four MPs were suspended after refusing to reveal their Covid vaccination details, including Liberal Democrat Tim Quilty who will not return to parliament until 2022.
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