A Penrith Councillor is locked in a legal battle with his own Council over a parking fine issued during the Local Government Election.
Independent Councillor Glenn Gardiner appeared in Mt Druitt Local Court this week, where he is fighting a fine issued by Penrith City Council for displaying his election posters on his parked vehicle during the campaign.
“The vehicle was parked outside of prepoll and Council claim that is a prohibited activity,” Gardiner said.
“I argue it is not prohibited but in fact is exempt development.”
Under the State Environmental Planning Policy No 64 – Advertising and Signage Section 33 (2) the display of any poster that contains electoral material in relation to an election is exempt if the poster is no larger than 8,000 square centimetres, is displayed on behalf of a candidate, displayed in accordance with any requirements of the Act under which the election is held and is displayed during the relevant period.
Gardiner contends his posters were 5,400 square centimetres, they were displayed during the relevant election, the posters were displayed in accordance with the Electoral Act 2017 and the posters were displayed during the relevant election period.
Gardiner was hoping to have the matter dismissed at court this week but will need to wait until his next court date.
“I was hoping to move that the matter be dismissed but that wasn’t possible. I’ll have to wait until a later date to do that,” Gardiner said.
“It’s my opinion that the display of election posters during an election period is exempt development and I tried to have that motion moved today but I was unsuccessful because that was not an option, but I’ll continue along that path throughout the process.”
Gardiner said receiving the fine unfairly disrupted his campaign and is still impacting him now, three months later.
“I am disappointed, it was a disruption to my campaign,” Gardiner said.
“It took me off the campaign trail for several hours during prepoll and it is a disruption to my life.
“It is three months later and we’re still talking about what happened during the election. Now, it is going to extend into February and then beyond.
“I would say it’s been a length of time and effort that shouldn’t have been required.”
The Weekender understands other candidates were also fined or warned in similar circumstances during the election campaign in September.
Gardiner was successful in being elected to Council at the election, meaning he’s now locked in an awkward legal squabble with his own Council.
The Weekender reached out to Penrith City Council for comment, which responded that they were unable to make a statement regarding the matter.
“As the matter is currently before the court, Council is unable to make any comment,” a spokesperson for Penrith City Council said.
The matter will next be in court on Wednesday, February 19.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.