The Magistrates’ Court has awarded $180,000 in costs against David Penman following the dismissal of his private criminal prosecutions against former Hepburn Shire CEO Bradley Thomas and Councillors Clark, Henderson, Hewitt, Cornish, and Hockey.
Mr. Penman initiated private charges alleging misuse of public office, which under the Local Government Act required the five elected councillors to temporarily stand down. However, the case collapsed when Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) formally intervened. Following a thorough evidence review, the DPP determined there were insufficient grounds to proceed and successfully applied to have all charges completely thrown out, allowing the councillors to return to their positions.
With the criminal charges dismissed, the legal focus shifted to financial recovery. Hepburn Shire Council, the five councillors, and Mr. Thomas applied to the court to have Mr. Penman pay their substantial legal expenses. Magistrate Patrick Southey granted time for the respondents’ legal teams to quantify their combined costs.
This week, the court ordered David Penman to pay $180,000 in legal costs incurred by Council, councillors and the former CEO.
In response to the cost hearing and the outcomes of the court case, the Mayor Cr Tony Clark said,
“We are all pleased that this challenging period is over and we can all focus on representing our community. It’s now time to look forward and build a better home for all of us.”
The stand down of Councillors required when private prosecutions are initiated contines as a major concern that remains to be resolved.
The State Government introduced the Local Government Legislation Amendment (Stronger Communities Bill) in the Victorian Parliament in June.
As part of the proposed amendments, the Bill proposes changes to councillor standdown provisions where charges are brought by way of a private prosecution. The changes would limit the standdown requirement to charges brought on behalf of a law enforcement agency. This would exclude private prosecutions from triggering the automatic standdown process.
These changes are strongly supported by the Municipal Association of Victoria and Rural Councils Victoria.
