WHITTLESEA: Death threat for Mayor under fire
Whittlesea Council Mayor Cr Aidan McLindon – whose Councillor colleagues have unanimously called upon to resign – says he has received a death threat.
In a statement posted to social media, Cr McLindon said: “Yesterday I met with the Victorian Police. It is of public interest that I make this statement as the safety of my family and I has been compromised.
“This has intensified over time, and my family is now living in fear.
“Since September 2024 I have been targeted by a highly organised and politically motivated group of Labor Party members in response to my policies advocating for the following positions:
m”A rates freeze, a family friendly council that protects the innocence of children (in an increasingly hyper-sexualised environment), to swiftly act on any internal misconduct and to ensure Council can help stop the construction of the proposed Northern Incinerator. These were policies I expressed and championed in my campaign material.
“ These policies gained widespread community support and I was elected as a local representative with a clear majority.
“As with all policies, not everyone will agree.,” Cr McLindon said.Whittlesea Mayor Cr Aidan McLindon continued with his statement:
“Democracy means that we are free to disagree, free to debate robustly, and free to live respectfully in that disagreement.
“Unfortunately, some of the views I represent and advocate for have attracted behaviours from a small contingent in the community that have now become volatile.
“Whittlesea deserves councillors who express all manner of views and advocate for all positions in the council chamber and wider community. We are the sum of our diversity.
“Regrettably, my family is now living in anxiety as I have received a death threat, our car has been broken into and ransacked, leaflets have been distributed across the community accusing me of being ‘Islamophobic’ having a ‘history of hate’ and ‘promoting bigotry and violence’.
“I have also been falsely accused of causing pain and confusion to the transgender community and not being supportive to First Australians – none of which is true or validated. “The level of vilification and slander directed at me personally from some members of our community has been unreasonable and unwarranted. “I want to make it clear, as Mayor, I will always fight for all views to be protected and respected.
“I have shared some of the hardships suffered by my family with my councillor colleagues some time ago.
“I consider the response from one Councillor to be unacceptable and inconsistent with the Councillor code of conduct.
“Recently I have been followed by vehicles acting with intent to intimidate.
“I have also met with the Police Inspector of Whittlesea and found myself in a position where I had to request a private security detail to be posted outside my family home.
“I was also informed that the safety alert in the public council chambers had been elevated to ‘high’ and that I was posed as the highest risk to my personal safety.
“When seeking further details from the CEO as to what those threats were which required a ‘high alert’ I was advised that I was unable to have them disclosed to me.
“The last council meeting saw rate-payers fund four security guards along with local police presence on standby.
“This is not the Whittlesea I grew up in and this is not what local democracy should look like in Victoria.
“We should be able to visit the Council chambers without fear for our safety and sit in the public chambers, just as we saw former Whittlesea CEO Simon Overland do last Tuesday.
“I will state that the length and volume at which Simon’s eyes stared directly at me as I chaired that meeting, was somewhat unsettling. It was a rather strange experience.
“Simon Overland is the former Victorian Police Commissioner who was sacked as the Whittlesea CEO in December 2019 as he was preparing to give evidence to the Lawyer X Royal Commission.
“His presence was somewhat confronting.
“I hold no malice to any councillor or member of the organisation.
“Politics can be a very challenging space to navigate.
“We each have different views and life expereinces to draw from, and this is what makes a good council. “We have been elected to serve the people and that is what I am doing.
“I am proud to be Mayor and I genuinely want to ensure all Councillors and Community members are heard, regardless of the diversity of our views.
“It is not our diversity of views that is the challenge, rather, it is the manner in which we respect and treat each other for expressing those views that counts.
“Please know that as your Mayor I will never buckle to bullying, tactics of intimidation, vilification, threats, manipulation, coercion or verbal and online slander.
“I will however, take all necessary measures to ensure that my family is safe at all times – they do not deserve this, and they should always feel safe in the Whittlesea community.
“Today, I have formally lodged a wide-ranging complaint with the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC).
“My hope is that this will assist in ensuring our Council is firmly focused on the community in an accountable and transparent way.
“As a multi-faith, multi-cultural community of decent hard-working people, what is happening currently in this city is not reflective of who we are.
“We all deserve a lot better. I will continue to do everything within my power to make sure that as elected representatives we are transparent and accountable at all times so that as councillors we can get on with the job without fear or favour (including undue political influence) to do the basics brilliantly – short grass, good roads, reasonable rates and of course, clean streets and public areas.
“Together, we can ensure Whittlesea continues to be a safe place to work, live and play providing opportunities for everyone,” Cr McLindon said.