Neighbour complains as mayor keeps prohibited animal in residential backyard
The mayor of Shellharbour keeps a goat in his backyard. Council rules ban goats from residential areas. This prompted a neighbour complaint.
Glen Reid's kitchen window overlooks a pen with Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer's goat. The goat arrived around Christmas.
The previous goat was quiet. The new goat bleats constantly for hours.
Sometimes it bleats until after 10:30 at night. Reid says the noise is relentless.
Shellharbour City Council rules ban goats from suburban backyards. They affect neighbourhood quality.
Reid complained to the council. He is concerned the mayor is breaking his own council's policy.
The council said it would survey the area around Reid's home. They want to find other unreported animals.
They will assess based on individual cases. When media contacted Mayor Homer, he became angry.
He called the story gutter journalism. He hung up after about a minute.
A council spokesperson said the policy allows for site-by-site consideration. It is not known if Homer has received permission.
- Glen Reid
- Neighbour
- Chris Homer
- Mayor
- Around Christmas
- Arrival time
- 10:30pm
- Latest bleating time
Why it mattersElected officials must follow the same rules as everyone else. When a leader ignores council policy, it harms governance and weakens public trust.
AustraliaThis raises questions about accountability when a local council leader appears to breach the council's own regulations without permission.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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