Councillor Di Bell was the subject of a motion passed at a meeting on Monday, June 27, which called on Mayor Robyn Gulline to refer the councillor to the Local Government Inspectorate on the grounds of failing to declare a conflict of interest.

The accused breach relates to a confidential council meeting held in May regarding the Australian Services Union.

Cr Bell said she believed council had not addressed the issue in a "professional and appropriate manner" and hoped the investigation was resolved quickly.

"This is a personal response to the matter regarding myself on Monday night, and does not represent HRCC," she said.

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"The allegations raised in the motion had not been discussed with me at all, and I believe the process was disrespect of the highest order by councillors involved.

"I take my responsibility and requirements under the act, code of conduct and governance rules very seriously. I operate with integrity, and to the best of my ability at all times, and I seek further advice when unsure, as I did in this case, at my own cost.

"Conflict of Interest is something we need to assess continually based on the matter being considered

"In the motion, it's often not clear and depends on the type of involvement with the matter. For example, if it affects your property - that's something clear and easy to decide, but some aren't.

"With regards to the misuse of position, I have no idea what is being referred to, as I am always pedantic about stating when I am acting in or expressing my own opinion in my capacity as an elected councillor and not representing the HRCC."

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She further said that she believed making the breach public had eroded public trust in the council.

"Reporting matters that may be a breach under any of the acts or codes, does not have to be public, and indeed during my very challenging journey as a councillor there have been serious matters which I have experienced but chose not to make public," she said.

"When the occurred I chose not to because I believed it would destroy the public's confidence in council and the people elected to represent them on council.

"Allegations made towards me, which commenced within two months of being elected, have taken a toll on me and I have not been afforded procedural fairness when it was required. It has also affected how I represent the community."

Horsham Rural City Council were asked for comment but did not reply in time for publication.

EARLIER: A Horsham councillor will be referred to the state government after being accused of an ethical violation relating to a confidential session in the council's May 23 meeting.

Horsham Rural City councillor Di Bell will be referred to the local government inspectorate regarding concerns she failed to disclose a conflict of interest in relation to the Australian Services Union's allegations of bullying within the council.

Cr Bell was also accused of misusing her position as councillor in matters relating to that confidential session.

RELATED: ASU has 'serious concerns' about workplace culture at Horsham Rural City Council

At the council's June 26 meeting, concerns were raised about a conflict of interest concerning a family member of Cr Bell.

Mayor Robyn Gulline said that Cr Bell had written on May 11 that she had a conflict of interest but failed to declare it.

Cr Bell said she had asked the mayor about seeking legal advice and had subsequently sought such advice.

"Based on that advice is how I've acted since," Cr Bell said.

"This will be about my daughter being a staff member, she is not a member of the union and has not been involved in any discussions."

Cr Gulline said she had been approached "independently and individually" by councillors Les Power, Penny Flynn and David Bowe to raise concerns over Cr Bell's conduct.

"They each independently contacted me concerned by the behaviour that we had witnessed, through the emails that had come to them so they asked me to follow up," Cr Gulline said.

During the council's Monday, June 26, meeting Cr Power put forward a motion to discuss Cr Bell's behaviour as "urgent business".

"I have concerns in relation to Councillor Bell's conduct that have arisen since the distribution of the agenda," Cr Power said.

"The matter cannot be left until the next scheduled meeting, given the damage that is being done to Council and the community at the moment."

The motion authorised the mayor to write to the local government inspectorate to determine whether councillor Bell failed to disclose a conflict of interest and thereby breached the local government act of 2020.

A second part of the motion proposed by Cr Power suggested Cr Bell's "recent conduct in relation to the allegations made the Australian Services Union... amounted to a misuse of position".

"We need to discuss this, we need to vote on it," Cr Power said.

"If the vote goes in favour of the motion then the mayor would write to the local government inspectorate asking for the investigation.

"(I'm) happy for it to go either way, if it goes the other way then it'd be squashed, simple as that."

Councillors Ian Ross and Claudia Haenel criticised the motion, describing it as "concerning", "bullying" and "an abomination".

"This is quite concerning... we have allegations in this council of bullying and a toxic culture, and I see what is happening now is just a classic example of that happening again," Cr Ross said.

"I have no issue with there being an investigation, but... I just see hypocrisy and double standards here.

"We live in a democracy. This is not like Putin's Russia or Jinping's China or Kim Jong-un's North Korea, this is democracy where councillors have the right to speak to constituents and gather information."

The motion to refer Cr Bell to the local government inspectorate carried, with Cr Power, Cr Bowe, Cr Flynn and Cr Gulline voting for, and Cr Ross, Cr Haenel and Cr Bell voting against.

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