That’s not “freedom of speech” Amanda – it’s abuse

The look sort of says it all.

Albury councillor out of line & out of control

I reckon when you get elected to public office - be it at Federal, State or even Local Council level – at some stage you are going to cop a bit of stick from your constituents. Some of it might be constructive, some of it might be wrong and some of it might even be nasty. So responding politely to the first two types while just ignoring the third would seem the way to go .. for most.

Not so for Albury councillor Amanda Duncan-Strelec who has now admitted – following a council investigation – to sending an anonymous, abusive letter to a retired accountant in response to his submission on the council’s new rates structure in which she called him “a sanctimonious prat” and “a serial pest”. Actually, the letter was in the form of scrawled, handwritten notes in the margin of a copy of the ratepayer’s submission.

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Since then Duncan-Strelec has also sent an email – this time under her own name – to another ratepayer (a former councillor) abusing and criticising him too, for having the audacity to request she be censured by the council for ­the anonymous letter writing and that she should apologise to the ratepayer, her fellow councillors and the people of Albury for her behaviour. In the email she called the former councillor “fat and lazy” and threatened to start up a blog to further ridicule him on the Internet.

But Duncan-Strelec is unapologetic for the disrespect and lack of manners she has clearly displayed.

She’s even had the hide to read out a prepared statement at this month’s council meeting claiming she had nothing to say sorry for and making it quite clear she was on the warpath against any ratepayers who dare speak their mind:

I also wish to put these serial pests on notice that, if they keep harassing and criticising our staff or myself with petty, baseless allegations, there could well be a few more letters coming their way. That is what democracy and freedom of speech is all about.

Unbelievable. Have a read of her long-winded and self-aggrandizing statement and see what you make of it. I reckon she’s got a weird definition of “freedom of speech” if she thinks it extends to writing abusive (and anonymous) letters to the people she is supposed to represent that basically say, “shut up you pig or I’ll slander you on the Internet too.” 

They’re a weird lot over in Albury.

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