Q: What's a 2830?

A: A dubbo, of course.

As reported yesterday, a couple of Dubbo Zoo inmates, oops that should read Dubbo City Councillors, who previously resided in the Clarence Valley, are making big impressions in the local government arena in central western NSW.

Richard Mutton (left) and Peter Bartley (right), who are councillors on Dubbo City Council, have done their level best to demonstrate how effectively the National Party performs.

At Monday night's meeting of council a motion, moved by Mutton, that Bartley had breached the council's code of conduct, should be counselled and should apologise to the council was carried.

So who are Mutton and Bartley?

1. Mutton

When Gerry Peacocke retired as the State National Member for Dubbo in 1999 a swing of 19.4% was required if the Nationals were to lose the safest seat in NSW. With its remarkable collective wisdom the Nationals saw fit to preselect Mutton as their candidate. The rest is history ... Mutton suffered a humiliating defeat and lost the seat to the independent Tony McGrane.

2. Bartley

Bartley is chairperson of the Nationals Dubbo electorate council.

Gee, the Nationals are a weird breed of cattle.

Pics from Dubbo City Council

Dubbo City Council's emailgate - shades of Canberra?

Two former Clarence Valley residents, Peter Bartley (left) and Richard Mutton (right), have been players in Dubbo City Council's emailgate.

Bartley and Mutton are councillors on Dubbo City Council.

Dubbo’s Daily Liberal reported that Dubbo City Council voted to take action against Bartley for a breach of the council’s code of conduct and demand the councillor apologise.

Bartley was found in breach of the council’s Code of Conduct in a matter of confidentiality by a conduct review committee.

The conduct review committee was called in by Mayor Greg Matthews to investigate an email leaked to the Daily Liberal in January.

Cr Matthews was the author of the email about medical consulting rooms in North Street, Dubbo, at the height of the drama at the departure of doctors George Albert and Baghat Gerges from Dubbo.

Dubbo City Council and the conduct review committee asked the Daily Liberal to divulge its source, but it refused to do so.

The result of the conduct review committee went before councillors in a meeting that was originally intended to be a closed meeting, but went to a public hearing.

Cr Mutton moved that Cr Bartley had breached the code of conduct, should be counselled and should apologise to the council.

Cr Mutton said he did not appreciate having to move the motion but had been “extremely upset” when he heard of the leak and wrote to the mayor because he felt it was a code of conduct breach.

The motion also said that the council would not pursue legal advice on the potential breach of a section of the Local Government Act.

Bartley is a partner in a firm of Dubbo solicitors while Mutton is a psychologist. When they resided in the Clarence Valley Bartley had a legal practice in Maclean while Mutton was a school counsellor. Mutton was also an announcer on Grafton's radio station 2GF. In an even earlier life, "Swinging Dick" Mutton was station manager for Radio UNE in Armidale.

pics from Dubbo City Council