PERTH Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi plans to argue 11 of the trips she allegedly failed to disclose were taken due to her membership of the Australian Press Council, and were not related to her duties as Perth Lord Mayor.
At today’s directions hearing in the State Administrative Tribunal, Ms Scaffidi’s lawyer Steven Penglis stated the Lord Mayor said there were 11 cases in which she was not required to disclose the travel gifts because they were not connected to her role at the City of Perth.
The Local Government Department is pursuing Ms Scaffidi about 45 alleged breaches of the Local Government Act arising from the alleged acceptance of prohibited gifts and a failure to adequately declare gifts of travel and accommodation.
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READ NOWMs Scaffidi was a member of the Press Council for nine years, ending in 2012. The alleged breaches are said to have occurred between January 2008 and October 2015.
While the Lord Mayor was not present at today’s directions hearing she is expected to be present at a public hearing at the Tribunal on February 6.