Former Capel Shire president Michael Southwell handed orders after 13th local government breach

A former South West president who was found guilty of his 13th local government breach after failing to declare his interest in a council matter last year will be publicly condemned by the shire he once led. The South Western Times last month reported the State Administrative Tribunal found ex-Capel Shire president Michael Southwell did not declare an impartiality interest when he moved for an urgent review of then-chief executive Ian McCabe’s performance in January last year. It was found Mr Southwell had breached the Local Government Rules of Conduct because of a defamation case he had launched against Mr McCabe in the Supreme Court five months earlier. The finding marked the 13th time the former president had been in breach of the LGRC. In handing down its orders on January 4, the SAT stated the Capel Shire must now write a Notice of Public Censure, which must be published in newspapers for the public to see. The notice would state the SAT found Mr Southwell had not met regulations after failing to disclose his interests and, in doing so, had committed a recurrent breach, meaning he had been found guilty more than twice. The SAT said Mr Southwell’s previous sanctions had not resulted in him ever modifying his behaviour. “(His) lack of insight and remorse are particularly relevant,” the findings stated. “Notably, he seeks to minimise his own responsibility and blame others for his conduct.” Mr Southwell had argued he had been the subject of a “barrage of complaints” that had been dismissed in the past. He said the complaints against him had been sustained for “trivial, technical breaches” and that his behaviour had not been repetitive, but instead the “lodging of vexatious and spurious complaints to the panel as part of a campaign of harassment by former councillors and others.” The Capel Shire’s notice will be published in The West Australian and Bunbury Mail newspapers.