THE Orana Law Society (OLS) will lodge a complaint alleging Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson has breached the council's code of conduct over comments he made in relation to sentencing of criminals in Dubbo.
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Earlier, Cr Dickerson called for "cold, hard data" on the sentencing regime in Dubbo and greater accountability from magistrates in response to a growing belief sentencing of the city's criminals was too lenient.
A meeting called by the OLS at Dubbo on Tuesday night resolved to lodge a detailed complaint with council's general manager accusing the mayor of, "amongst other things, bringing the council and the office of the mayor into disrepute and failing to treat others with respect at all times as well as intimidation of a judicial officer".
OLS secretary Peter Bartley said the night was attended by 45 people including solicitors.
"It showed the depth of concern about the unjustified personal attacks by the mayor on the local magistrate Mr Andrew Eckhold," he said.
The resolution to complain to Dubbo City Council's general manager was one of five motions passed during the 90-minute meeting, Mr Bartley said.
Other resolutions included inviting Dubbo City Council's mayor, councillors and general manager to a private meeting with OLS representatives to discuss the mayor's concerns about sentencing in Dubbo.
The OLS also resolved to write to Dubbo MP Troy Grant asking him to "affirm the independence of the judiciary in general and in Dubbo in particular" and to support the establishment of a drug court and residential rehabilitation and detoxification centre at Dubbo.
Another resolution was to complain to the Daily Liberal and Star FM in Dubbo about the publication of interviews with the mayor on the issue and "if the complaints were not upheld then such complaints be referred to the Australian Press Council and the Australian Communications Media Authority".
Cr Dickerson said the discussion was on a matter of public concern and it should be able to be held without threats of action for contempt of court.
The debate had been started by an OLS media release some media outlets had asked him to comment on, he said.
Cr Dickerson said crime statistics for some property crimes at Dubbo had prompted concerns from members of the community who were concerned they were linked to sentencing.
"My comments have consistently stated there is a need for more statistical data to establish whether sentencing in Dubbo is more lenient than other parts of the state and, if so, is there a true correlation between leniency and the crime statistics?" he said.
"This is an important debate to be held in the community and to have any such debate requires hard information, not merely reliance upon perceptions and anecdotal evidence.
"I welcome the invitation of the Orana Law Society to have a sensible debate on this important matter which requires hard data and await correspondence from the society to arrange a suitable meeting where this matter of public concern can be discussed."
Mr Bartley said a further meeting would be held before the end of the year to check the progress of the OLS's efforts.
"In the meantime we hope the mayor will wind back on the personal nature of his comments and discuss the issues rather than attack any one individual person who is not allowed or able to respond," he said.
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