Councillors facing abuse say police won't act unless there's a death threat

Australia Broadcast Center

30-07-2025

A growing number of local government elected officials in Victoria are being threatened, abused and harassed online and in person.
But councillors say unless there is a "lynch mob" at their door threatening to kill them they have no protection and no way to make it stop.
Last year, Latrobe City councillor Tracie Lund made multiple appeals to Victoria Police, WorkSafe, the Local Government Inspectorate, the eSafety Commissioner, and the courts following what she described as a "relentless" campaign of harassment from members of the public.
Cr Lund said she was repeatedly told the content was either non-threatening due to its online nature, "not prosecutable", or simply "political dialogue".
"Every time I tried to escalate things for my physical and mental safety, I was told, 'You're a public profile. This is part of democracy,'" Cr Lund told the ABC.
"The more help I sought, the more of a target I became.
"There's been narrative around putting me in the ground … all I could do was capture it and hope like hell it didn't escalate offline."
Her comments mirror the experiences of other councillors around Victoria.
The ABC spoke to 22 councillors from 14 Victorian councils who reported similar roadblocks trying to enlist help from social media platforms and monitors, local government oversight bodies, law enforcement agencies, and the courts to protect them from abusive residents.
Multiple councillors said they had acted on police advice and applied for intervention orders, only to have them rejected by the courts.
They said it did not matter if the abuse came from anonymous online accounts, community members, or fellow councillors, or took place online, over the phone, via email, or in person.
The advice they received was consistent: "ignore it", "don't poke the beast", "lay low", and keep a "journal".
One councillor echoed the fears of many:
"It would have to take somebody coming onto my property to call the police," she said.
"I have a fear there's going to be a knock on the door and I open it and there's a lynch mob.
"And then what do I do, call triple-0 and say there's a group of constituents at my door?"
A statewide survey by the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA) found more than 80 per cent of Victorian councillors in the 2020-24 term had experienced threatening or intimidating behaviour.
Almost two-thirds of those reported bullying and non-sexual harassment, and nearly half said abuse and intimidation from members of the public had worsened since they were elected.
VLGA chief executive Kathryn Arndt said the statewide survey of Victoria's 606 councillors was the first formal dataset on the treatment of local government officials.
"The state government needs to reflect that they have a responsibility to local government."
Victoria Police would not comment on the number of abuse allegations it received from councillors, or its ability to resource investigations.
They said all questions about protection of councillors should be sent to local government.
A Victorian government spokesperson said all threats or criminal activity should continue to be referred to Victoria Police.
Earlier this year, a Melbourne councillor called the police to report a text message he had received from a resident allegedly saying, "There is nowhere in this nation you can hide from me".
The resident posted a screenshot of the message on social media with the hashtags #RunBitch and #BigBadWolfComingForYou.
The councillor was allegedly advised by police that unless the resident explicitly threatened them or they were already at their house, there was nothing authorities could do.
That councillor said it took two weeks of repeated text messages from the resident, four trips to the police station, and the involvement of a senior detective before authorities took the threat seriously and applied for an intervention order on his behalf.
Stories like these are consistent across the state.
In Melbourne's south, Kingston councillor Hadi Saab was in a restaurant when a man pointed a finger at his chest and called him a "f***ing disgusting woke clown" and a "smiling monkey" taking over Australia by "stealth".
Cr Saab, who is of Arabian heritage, said those slurs were pulled "word for word" from content posted online.
In Melbourne's south west, Hobsons Bay Deputy Mayor Rayane Hawli said a resident called her a Lebanese terrorist during a doorknock campaign and said, "I know what you're doing" because they had read about her online.
In regional Victoria, a councillor received a text message from a resident saying they wanted to shoot them in the head for being a "f***ing f****t".
Pictures of their car and home were published on social media, prompting them to pay for a security assessment, which recommended two large trees be removed from their front yard because they posed an ambush risk.
Memes of that councillor's partner doctored to make them appear dressed in pink Nazi uniforms were also circulated online amid baseless allegations that they both supported paedophilia.
In May this year, Central Victoria's Hepburn Shire reached boiling point.
Mayor Don Henderson called urgent meetings with Local Government Minister Nick Staikos, Victorian Police Minister Anthony Carbine and local authorities in an attempt to tackle the "concerning rise" of councillor abuse.
He co-wrote a letter to Mr Staikos calling on the state government to introduce legislation that offered better online protections and support for councillors and council staff.
Cr Henderson blamed online community groups and forums for spikes in aggressive behaviour, alleging they were a lightning rod for disaffected residents.
A spokesperson for the eSafety Commission said that in order to prompt an investigation, content had to meet the legal definition of "adult cyber abuse", which included realistic threats and content that put a person in physical danger.
Councillors subjected to abuse told the ABC, the lack of protection from authorities meant their only option was a costly one — to take their alleged abusers to court.
Last month, Stonnington Mayor Melina Sehr spent more than $100,000 in legal fees getting an intervention order against the head of the statewide pro-ratepayer group, Council Watch.
Victoria Police made the initial intervention order application but withdrew, citing a lack of resources and claiming Council Watch's content targeting Cr Sehr was "political in nature".
A magistrate ruled the opposite, finding Council Watch's president Dean Hurlston had stalked and harassed Cr Sehr for years under the guise of political discourse via online posts and communications.
While the court found many of Mr Hurlston's posts, texts, emails and videos were genuine political commentary, it found that the nature, frequency and persistence of Mr Hurlston's communication had caused it to "lose its political character".
The magistrate pointed to multiple examples of Mr Hurlston pairing genuine criticism with personal attacks, including one instance in which he accused Cr Sehr of financial impropriety alongside a "pretty personal attack" that alleged the councillor had weaponised the death of her mother for political gains.
Intervention orders are a civil matter and Mr Hurlston, who denies any wrongdoing, has not been charged with any offence and is appealing the two-year order.
Cr Sehr said, although she was "incredibly relieved", it would take her a long time to return to her old self and routines, given how long the harassment had been allowed to continue.
Former journalist and ex-City of Melbourne councillor Stephen Mayne said councillors needed a union to protect them from people who "continually rip into" them.
Currently, institutional peak bodies such as the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) or the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) are responsible for oversight of local government, but they represent councils, not councillors.
Mr Mayne said a councillors' union would plug that gap and serve as a third-party body to stop the growing movement of anti-government conspiracy theories, pile-ons, and abuse.
He said until that happened, good councillors would continue to be "kicked" and stalked, while those perpetuating the abuse would continue to gain traction and end up being elected to council.