A petition with nearly 350 signatures has been listed in Waratah-Wynyard Council's July agenda as the community ramp up pressure on one of its elected members.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The petition, which has been signed by 348 people, is calling on councillor Darren Fairbrother to resign.
"We the petitioners state, that we the Waratah-Wynyard community, believe that a current Waratah-Wynyard councillor recently tried and convicted of prohibited behaviour for indecent exposure and fined and placed on the Community Protection Register cannot and should not be a representative of any community group or organisation and, above all, any level of government," a statement from petitioners said.
"The Waratah-Wynyard community does not wish to be represented by a sex offender and this person has shown no respect for these wishes.
In the agenda, the management response recommends the petition be forwarded to Local Government Minister Nic Street.
The agenda also references several questions that Cr Fairbrother took on notice from the June meeting but is yet to answer.
One question focused on Cr Fairbrother's belief that the magistrate made the wrong decision in his court case, another focused on the code of conduct and the others on his decision to remain a councillor.
Local Government Director Mat Healey said it was council's responsibility to answer questions from the public and that they had done so by saying "Cr Fairbrother had not provided a response".
"A council can only respond to questions regarding Cr Fairbrother's intention with the information that it has been provided," Mr Healey said.
"Members of the community that consider that they are being treated unfairly can consider lodging a code of conduct complaint against a councillor."
Mr Healey said Cr Fairbrother can answer the questions at the meeting next week if he wants but the council has met their statutory obligations.
He also said the petition will have no "impact on decision making".