Cr Chris Holstein used a debate about whaling at the July 23 council meeting to call out the behaviour of another councillor.
He accused the councillor of grandstanding and putting up farcical motions designed to suck the oxygen out of the chamber.
His remarks got the gallery going, with a couple of onlookers hurling abuse aimed at the same councillor.
The Mayor, Jane Smith, cautioned the gallery to remain quiet.
Cr Holstein said he had disagreed with countless councillors in 25 years of local government but there had always been a level of respect.
Cr Holstein never named the councillor. But he criticised a number of previous notices of motions – all put forward by Cr Greg Best.
“In the 300 days of this council, this council has been subjected to a number of motions about a range of platitudes, blowing smoke, some would say,’’ he said.
Cr Best interrupted with a point of order, saying: “this hysterical history lesson” was not the matter of the debate.
Cr Holstein said it was not hysterical but fact; that motions put up previously were designed to draw out the meetings and disrupt the council.
Cr Holstein questioned the intent of Cr Best’s latest one on whaling.
Cr Best said it was pathetic that others picked on him just because he was prepared to raise the hard issues.
Cr Kyle MacGregor and Cr Louise Greenaway supported Cr Holstein’s words.
Cr MacGregor said there was a pattern of behaviour over nine months and it was getting worse. He said Cr Best was not using appropriate ways of speaking in the chamber and it was getting out of hand.
Cr Greenaway said she wanted to support the “unexpected but excellent words” of Cr Holstein.
The rest of the councillors remained quiet on the behaviour except Cr Troy Marquart.
He said he could appreciate some of the frustrations in the room and perhaps Cr Best was being “smarter by half” but nevertheless he supported his whale motion.
In the end, the whale motion was amended. The Mayor put up some words to say the council would express its views by writing to Federal Government MPs.
Cr Best had wanted to use the Central Coast’s sister city relationship with Edogawa to get a message to the Japanese Government.
His timing was questioned as Edogawa students are on the Central Coast at the moment.
To see the whole debate, via the livestream coverage of the meeting, go to the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxyUsWqezlE
The whaling issue starts with the first guest speaker at 7:15pm.
The words from Cr Holstein start at 7.30:45pm or 1:09:5 minutes into the meeting and again at 7:51:10.
Cr Best left the room during the second speech from Cr Holstein. The issue finishes at 755pm or at the 1:32 mark.
Climate change sceptic
Other highlights of the night included Cr Rebecca Gale Collins declaring she was a climate change sceptic. You can see that at 7.02pm or at the 39:48 mark of the video.
Earlier, Cr Marquart said he had doubts over some of the science and the scare tactics.
The two had spoken during debate on the direction of the proposed climate change policy the council is in the process of drafting.
