He also criticised a council employee “a DEI hire called [name redacted]. Doesn’t know how to tell the truth,” he said. “I’ve had various phone calls, conversations with [her]. She’s never done the job … does not know what she’s doing.”
Tanya Higgins (right, pictured with neighbour Bronnie Taylor) was targeted by Thaler in his social media posts.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
On April 29, he told his social media followers about the OLG investigation, which he said came about “because I called a fellow councillor who tells big fat lies a Big Fat Liar.”
When contacted by this masthead for comment, Thaler said: “You are not a journalist, you are a mouthpiece for the haters on the left.”
On social media, he said there had been no justice and claimed there had been a conspiracy against him. “Where is my right to a safe workplace?” he said. “Where is my right not to be subject to the most vile public attack, government attack, media attack?”
Before Thaler was elected to council, he had been banned from council meetings as he posed a “risk to the health and safety” of council workers due to his “aggressive, disruptive, verbally abusive” behaviour. The ban was overturned when he was elected.
Last year, a group of women in the Snowy town of Nimmitabel told of their struggles to stop years of insults from Thaler on social media, including telling them to “suck a dick”, describing them as dumb, venal, a “piece of shit”, and branding them narcissistic, manipulative liars.
A councillor who has been suspended by either the OLG or the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) three or more times is automatically disqualified for five years. NCAT also has the power to disqualify a councillor for five years.
There is also a separate investigation under way at the request of Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig to determine whether Thaler has failed to abide by a Performance Improvement Order signed by all Snowy Monaro councillors last year, prompted by his behaviour.
Thaler was elected in September with 111 first-preference votes, despite a history of harassing members of the community, particularly women, on his social media accounts.
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