7 days ago
Barossa councillor to appeal to ombudsman after Welcome to Country reprimand
A South Australian councillor says he will appeal to the ombudsman after colleagues called on him to resign for refusing to acknowledge Welcome to Country ceremonies.
Barossa Council also directed Bruce Preece to apologise and attend behavioural training "relevant to his role and responsibilities" in regard to three other unrelated allegations spanning 18 months.
These included using the slur "poofter" at an external event during a discussion about AFL player Jeremy Finlayson's suspension on that charge.
The council spent $47,000 investigating the complaints, according to public meeting documents, and Cr Preece, who has defended the allegations, was formally reprimanded at last Tuesday's meeting.
According to the meeting documents Cr Preece caught fellow councillors off-guard when he appeared on the front page of the Barossa Leader newspaper in 2023 and announced he would put forward a motion to abandon the Acknowledgement of Country at council events.
The motion failed, but a series of complaints later lodged by councillors Jess Greatwich and Kathryn Schilling alleged, among other things, that he did not meet his obligations of "maintaining relationships of respect, trust, collaboration and cooperation".
An investigation by Kelledy Jones Lawyers ruled he did not act in a "reasonable, just, respectful and non-discriminatory way" when he left the council chambers on five occasions during Acknowledgement of Country proceedings and allegedly turned his back on a smoking ceremony at a 2024 Australia Day event.
In her complaint Cr Greatwich said Mr Preece stood up as elder Quenten Agius began speaking and went to the coffee van line.
"For an extended period of time", the complaint alleged, Cr Preece stood "with his back facing the stage".
He was allegedly heard describing the amount of smoke as "disgusting" and saying "people can't breathe".
Cr Greatwich said she "could not see anyone struggling to breathe".
In his defence, Cr Preece said bowel cancer symptoms forced him to intermittently leave the chambers and that he was assisting an attendee who began coughing at the smoking ceremony.
Regarding the homophobic slur, Cr Preece's lawyer wrote that "the context of the conversation was the disparity of punishment between two issues, namely that Port Adelaide player [who] was given six-match suspension for a slur [when] a player can sling-tackle a player and get only [a] one or two-match suspension".
The third complainant, whose identity was undisclosed, reported that Cr Preece remarked "he was sick of our society telling him what he could and couldn't say" and that he was "referred to as that on the football field many times".
Cr Preece told the ABC he could not comment due to legal considerations but confirmed he would lodge a complaint with the ombudsman on the grounds that he was denied procedural fairness.
In a statement read to council he requested until August 8 to "respond fully" to the allegations and urged his colleagues to consider "what you would want to see happen if you were in my shoes".
"You never know if, one day – though you may be perfectly innocent – you may find yourself under investigation," Cr Preece's statement said.
"I hope that day never comes for you.
"I believe one of the great pillars of Australian society and the way our country is run is that when we have the rule of law, we have the principle that people are innocent until proven guilty and that those accused of wrongdoing are given procedural fairness in the ensuing investigations."
The time extension request was denied.
Cr Preece was previously a Prospect councillor between 2006 and 2014.
The City of Prospect spent $50,000 investigating behavioural complaints made by and against him.
Mr Agius, a Narungga and Ngadjuri elder, described Cr Preece's alleged actions as "disappointing".
"It's like the old people said — some people are open to change, but not all," he said.
"It's taken a long time for Aboriginal people to have a voice and for Aboriginal people to get up and speak at these occasions, and to want to participate in these special occasions, to unite us as a nation.
Barossa Mayor Michael Lange OAM said the council's decision was about policies rather than politics.
"It's disappointing that this has occurred, but I believe that council is engaging with First Nations, looking at all the things associated with their history and it's just about showing respect," he said.
"People can have personal views – I don't hold a grudge against that – but when we've set some policies and some principles on our behaviour, I think it's important we demonstrate that to the wider community."
Cr Lange said Cr Preece had privately advised him that his actions were a show of protest.
"He told me he objected to the Acknowledgement of Country in council meetings, yes," Cr Lange said.
Several SA councils have retired the Welcome to Country, including Northern Areas, Playford and Naracoorte Lucindale after motions from elected members.
On Wednesday Flinders Council in Tasmania voted down a similar proposal.
