Deputy Mayor Preet Singh is serving as Wyndham Mayor following the one-month suspension of Josh Gilligan after a misconduct finding by an independent arbiter.
The determination was tabled at Wyndham City Council’s meeting on Tuesday night and takes effect from 25 February. Under the Local Government Act, when a Mayor is suspended from the office of councillor, the mayoral office becomes vacant and the Deputy Mayor performs the role until a new Mayor is elected.
The finding relates to a Facebook post published in September 2025 about former mayor Kim McAliney. In that post, Cr Gilligan described Ms McAliney as a “raging lunatic” and accused her of “sprouting anti-government propaganda you usually see from the sovereign citizen movement”. He also wrote: “Ms McAliney, in my opinion, resigned because of the shame she brought upon herself,” according to the report tabled before council.
Councillor Robert Szatkowski sought the investigation, alleging breaches of the council’s standards of conduct for behaviour and integrity. After a hearing, arbiter Simon Heath upheld the complaint and ordered Cr Gilligan to issue a written apology and serve a one-month suspension.
Mr Heath found the comments did not meet the standards required of a councillor and directed that an apology acknowledging a failure to treat Ms McAliney with dignity, fairness, objectivity and respect be published on Cr Gilligan’s Facebook page within 72 hours of the report being tabled, and remain there for at least 30 days. The arbiter also noted that Cr Gilligan had been the subject of two internal arbitration processes in 2022.
As reported by the ABC, the arbiter’s report stated that although the Facebook post was later removed, it remained publicly accessible for several days and caused distress to Ms McAliney. The report also recorded that Cr Gilligan argued the post reflected his personal opinion and was justified in the context of political disagreement, an argument the arbiter rejected.
On Tuesday night, Cr Gilligan published an apology on Facebook stating: “I apologise for the language I used to describe a former ex-Mayor/councillor and Wimba Ward candidate on social media in September last year. It did not meet the standards of the Councillor Code of Conduct and thus should not have been said.
“I take responsibility for my words and regret the offence and hurt they caused to Ms McAliney. I am sorry to her.”
The dispute followed criticism by Ms McAliney of the council’s decision to spend $372,000 on a six-month trial of private security patrols in Truganina.
Cr Singh, elected to council in November 2024 and appointed Deputy Mayor in November 2025, is now carrying out the responsibilities of Mayor during the suspension period. A Wyndham resident of 20 years, he runs a local solar installation business and has identified community safety, infrastructure delivery and support for local businesses among his priorities.
Council services and day-to-day operations continue as normal while councillors prepare to elect a new Mayor.
