City of Nedlands sued by former chief executive over ‘defamatory’ press release

The former chief executive of a local government in Perth’s well-heeled western suburbs has launched defamation action over a press release the council issued following a damning auditor-general report.

William “Bill” Parker was chief executive of the City of Nedlands from 2022 until the end of 2023, when he took up his current post at the City of Wanneroo.

Former Nedlands CEO Bill Parker is suing the City over defamatory comments.

Parker has now dragged Nedlands council to court, with a writ filed in the WA Supreme Court this week alleging he was defamed in a media release put out in October 2024 after the auditor-general rejected an audit of the city’s 2022-23 finances.

The Office of the Auditor General had pored over 137 local government financial reports for the year ending July 2023, and of those only Nedlands had received a “disclaimer of opinion”.

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The city conducted what it described as a “warts and all” review, and a copy of its report was attached to the media release.

Parker’s departure from Nedlands was announced in August 2023, and he took up his role at Wanneroo in December that year.

The auditor general’s report on the local government financial audit results was tabled in parliament in June 2024.

In the writ, Parker claims the media release, as well as the attached report, conveyed defamatory imputations and had caused reputational damage, as well as hurt and distress.

He is seeking damages, including aggravated damages, and an injunction forcing the City of Nedlands to remove the release from its website and restraining it from publishing the imputations contained in it.

The City of Nedlands declined to comment.

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