3 months ago
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The City of Perth is facing fresh internal turmoil after acting chief executive officer Peta Mabbs alleged Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds acted unlawfully by pushing through an urgent workplace culture motion shortly before she quit.
At the November 18 council meeting, Reynolds introduced an urgent motion to appoint law firm Mills Oakley to carry out a workplace culture review with a budget of up to $125,000.
The City of Perth Council.Credit: City of Perth
However, in a brief prepared for an agenda briefing session on December 2, Mabbs, standing in for chief executive Michelle Reynolds who is on leave, claimed the decision was “not a lawful decision and therefore can not be implemented”.
In the item, Mabbs claimed councillors were given just six minutes to read the motion before voting, with no reason was provided for the urgency, questions were not allowed, and the lord mayor moved straight to a vote, depriving council of the information required to make an “informed decision”.
Mabbs said the motion breached the Local Government Act and “shuns the CEO” in her role as principal adviser to council.
Following the November 18 meeting, Councillor Catherine Lezer flagged she wanted to move a revocation motion at the next council meeting, and circulated a draft motion to colleagues on Saturday, November 22.
The same day, the lord mayor requested a special council meeting be convened on Tuesday, November 25, to consider the revocation motion, despite it not being formally lodged yet.
“The Lord Mayor subsequently advised the Administration that a [special council meeting] does not require an item to already exist, and that the meeting should be convened,” Mabbs’ brief read.
Lezer and the two other councillors who voted against Reynolds’ motion at the November 18 could not attend the special council meeting due to the short notice, Mabbs’ brief read.
“As a result, the only elected members in attendance at the SCM were those who voted in favour of the resolution adopted by the Council at the OCM on 18 November 2025,” it read.
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A second revocation motion was raised at the special council meeting by councillor Liam Gobbert, but was not supported by those at the meeting – including Gobbert.
Mabbs’ brief labelled that revocation motion “invalid and of no effect” because it was in the same terms as the first revocation order, which had not yet been considered and determined by the council at the meeting date specified.
“Given the Second Revocation Motion was invalid and that the First Revocation Motion ... remains valid, the Administration is barred, under the Standing Orders, from taking any steps to implement or give effect to the Council resolution of 18 November 2025,” the brief read.
However, Bruce Reynolds rejected the administration’s characterisation of events, in a statement saying the review was “essential” and would provide “a transparent health check” of the organisation.
“This is a healthy and positive step for the City of Perth,” Reynolds said.
“As a new leadership group, it is important that we seek continuous improvement in the critical areas of workplace culture, staff wellbeing, and organisational safety.
“An independent and transparent review will help us set the benchmark for where we are now and how we continue to strengthen the organisation into the future.”
Reynolds said elected members who were unable to attend the special council meeting in person were given the option to attend electronically.
He said he opted to call the special council meeting to ensure Lezer’s revocation “did not delay the commencement of the review or the work of the new committee”, followed up with the administration on Monday and notified councillors on Monday evening.
“At [Tuesday night’s] meeting, the proposed revocation was considered and defeated,” he said.
“Council is now able to proceed with the important work it resolved to undertake last week.”
The administration’s report also points to deeper tensions, including concerns raised by the CEO about the psychosocial safety of staff who work closely with elected members.
Ten behavioural complaints involving councillors have been lodged this year, eight since June.
In the item, Mabbs claimed no concerns about workplace culture were raised in Michelle Reynolds’ August performance review, which unanimously recognised her “high performance and achievements”.
Council will deal with the matter at an ordinary council meeting on December 9, when Lezer’s original motion is listed to consider revoking the motion pushed through by the lord mayor on November 18.
Mabbs resigned from the organisation on November 25. A City of Perth spokesperson said chief executive Michelle Reynolds was due to return in mid-December.
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