Court ruling paves path for councillor's automatic five-year ban
NSW Court of Appeal found a tribunal's reprimand and training order not enough for Snowy Monaro councillor Andrew Thaler's crude posts.
Snowy Monaro councillor Andrew Thaler made five crude and offensive comments on YouTube and Facebook in March 2025. The comments were about two councillors and two members of the public.
The NSW Department of Planning initially suspended him for three months. Thaler appealed to a tribunal.
The tribunal overturned the suspension. It ordered only a reprimand, an apology, and a training course.
The department then appealed to the NSW Court of Appeal. It argued the tribunal's penalty was too light.
The court agreed. Justice Mark Leeming noted the comments were deliberately published to social media audiences forever.
This was not just a single outburst. The ruling matters because Thaler has now been suspended three times.
Under NSW law, three suspensions from public office automatically lead to a five-year ban from holding any public position.
Why it mattersThe court's decision could result in stricter discipline. This would trigger an automatic five-year ban. The ban would remove Thaler from office entirely.
AustraliaNSW local government standards; shows courts are willing to override tribunals to enforce stricter conduct rules for councillors.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 1 d ago
