Human Toll Of Council Stoush

Illawarra Mercury

Wednesday March 12, 2008

By SARAH ALLELY

UNFORTUNATELY Socks the cat died on New Year's Eve. Otherwise Shellharbour councillor Helen Stewart would have got him to prepare an affidavit for the case that threatens her home, she says.

Pictured here with husband Ric Stewart and one of their other cats, Jerry, Cr Stewart was keen to show the human face of the landmark court action against her by Shellharbour City Council.

The case descended into a farce last month when Cr Stewart's alibi focused on Socks the cat, who she said had spilt a cup of tea over a confidential council report she allegedly leaked to a community website in 2006.

"We had to put Socks to sleep on December 31, he had a kidney failure. I would have got an affidavit from him otherwise," she said.

Mr Stewart told the court he recalled his wife coming home from the May 16 council meeting with the report, and Socks knocking her cuppa over the document, making it unable to be distributed.

The case centres on council allegations that Cr Stewart and fellow independent Cr Geoff Rose breached the Local Government Act by leaking general manager Brian Weir's contract renewal, remuneration package and a draft report to a community website in 2006.

The Land and Environment Court battle has put the council under enormous pressure.

In November, the State Government threatened to sack the council if it did not sort out the mess.

Further bizarre moments during the hearings included a star witness remembering he didn't have a home fax, the mayor forgetting that his chief executive's salary details should be confidential and a councillor giving evidence via video link after being hospitalised after a fall outside the court.

From her home, Cr Stewart said the legal bills looked likely to reach about $100,000. Mr Stewart broke down and left the room when asked about the financial pressures. His wife said she was receiving help from a psychologist.

On February 16 the Mercury reported estimates of the cost of the council's case to ratepayers, put at more than $20,000 a day just for court sittings, and totalling more than $1 million.

The council is confident it will recover its costs from the respondents.

Sitting in their modest Oak Flats home, the Stewarts looked around and wondered where such money would come from if the council won.

Mr Stewart, a disability pensioner, was planning another trip to the bank to borrow more on their home after the case again ran over time last month and was adjourned for a further two days at the end of March.

They were forced to mortgage their home of 29 years late last year, after their savings dried up.

"I would say we would lose the house if the decision goes against me," Cr Stewart said.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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