Two Hume councillors involved in ugly confrontations with Broadmeadows Progress Association members and others at a public forum were summoned to appear before a special council meeting.
Cr Jack (Steve) Medcraft allegedly tussled with a BPA supporter over a sign and yelled at a number of people.
Cr Jack Ogilvie was accused of intimidating behaviour during the brief confrontation that ensued.
Councillors were due to decide on further action after several formal complaints were submitted. More than 350 people attended the forum at Broadmeadows Town Hall to discuss the new city of Sunbury.
Residents can submit feedback on the proposed changes via survey forms, with the option of making their views known online.
Opening the forum, mayor Casey Nunn said the council had been “inundated” with calls and emails from residents since Local Government Minister Tim Bull announced Sunbury would be separated from Hume last month.
“There are significant implications for the people and staff of both Sunbury and Hume,” Cr Nunn said. “Let me make it clear – council accepts the vote to separate, but we believe the creation of Sunbury should not be at the expense of the rest of Hume.”
The mayor said she had received further correspondence from Mr Bull indicating he would be amending the amount of money Hume would contribute to the new Sunbury municipality from monies it received for being home to Melbourne’s international airport.
Mr Bull inherited the controversial Sunbury-out-of-Hume project from retiring Nationals MP and former minister Jeanette Powell.
Cr Nunn said Mrs Powell had promised a “one-off separation cost” rather than the annual $2.47 million payment for the next 10 years that Mr Bull has proposed. She said the panel appointed by the former minister to oversee the separation process had “failed to meet the criteria of its own terms of reference” and had failed to ensure the viability of the new Sunbury municipality.
Comments from last week’s forum and the ongoing online survey will be collated and submitted to Mr Bull later this month.
