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A councillor has been hit with a four-week suspension following a heated debate over installing a Jewish symbol on council land in which he used the words “antisemitic” and “unlawful”.
Stonnington councillor Tom Humphries urged his fellow councillors to support his push to install a menorah at Malvern Town Hall on December 1 last year to mark Hanukkah, which was initially deferred before being approved a week later.
During the discussion in council chambers over whether to defer the decision, Humphries used the terms “grotesque”, “antisemitic”, “unlawful” and “an affront to the Jewish community” – language which was later referenced by arbiter Diana Price, who found he engaged in misconduct.
According to a report tabled in council documents, Price found the comments were directed at people instead of a procedural motion, which Humphries denies. She also ruled his language was used to “bully, intimidate or harangue his colleagues to vote his way”.
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“Councillor Humphries was entitled to robustly oppose the motion to defer the notice of motion. He was able to use language that was forceful. However, his statements went well beyond the concept of robust debate in a democracy,” Price found.
She also took aim at Humphries placing the vote on the menorah on the council’s agenda at the “eleventh hour” with what she described as scant detail.
The arbitration was initiated by four councillors – Stonnington Mayor Melina Sehr, Deputy Mayor Samantha Choudhury, and councillors Jami Klisaris and Steve Stefanopoulos – who argued Humphries brought discredit on the council.
According to the report, they argued Humphries’ comments were “baseless accusations” which were “demeaning and obscene and examples of vilification” that were “intended to create a hostile environment, to embarrass his colleagues and to force them into doing what he wanted”.
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In addition to his four-week suspension, Humphries is banned from seeking the mayoralty or deputy mayoralty for six months and must apologise to colleagues on his return.
Taking to his “Tom for Toorak” Instagram account, Humphries addressed his “fellow Toorakians” to say that he strongly disagreed with the findings and the characterisations of his actions.
“These comments were made in a political debate in the actual [council] chamber. So if we’re not able to debate it in our agreed-upon political settings, then where else can we have a political debate?” Humphries told The Age, speaking in personal capacity, about his language.
He worried about a “chilling effect” on debate on contentious issues, and said he worries other people may be deterred from running for local government.
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“My intent from the outset was to advocate strongly for inclusion, particularly for the Jewish people. This occurred two weeks before the horrific attack at Bondi, and at the time it created quite a lot of unnecessary heartache for the community.”
Toorak ward has been declared vacant on Stonnington Council’s website, and a council spokesperson said Humphries will resume duties on October 13, with Sehr responding to queries from the Toorak ward community in the interim.
Humphries has been stripped of access to his council phone or email address, with emails to his inbox met with the message: “Tom Humphries does not currently hold the office of councillor”.
A menorah was installed on council land in 2025, and would be placed outside Malvern Town Hall in the lead-up to Hanukkah this year under a new council policy which is set to be voted on by councillors in October.
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Humphries joins a growing list of Victorian councillors to be suspended after being found to have breached the model councillor code of conduct, with Wyndham councillor Josh Gilligan hit with a two-week ban over comments he made to this masthead opposing a push to sell an RAAF base.
An arbiter ruled Gilligan broke the rules by failing to treat a fellow councillor with courtesy by email and for speaking out before the council formally adopted a position, which they later did, and was also critical of the proposal.
Earlier this year, Libertarian upper house MP David Limbrick moved a motion calling for the code to be reviewed, which was supported by the Coalition, the Greens and the Legalise Cannabis party.
The code was recommended by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission in its Operation Sandon report on Casey Council corruption, which was sparked by reporting in this masthead.
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Rachael Ward is a journalist in the City team at The Age. Contact her at [email protected] via email.AdvertisementAdvertisement