Controversial councillor must stay away from colleague under AVO

A councillor in southern New South Wales says he intends to appeal an interim apprehended violence order (AVO) taken out against him by a fellow councillor.Andrew Thaler represented himself via video link in Cooma Local Court on Thursday, where an interim AVO was made to protect fellow Snowy Monaro Regional councillor and Deputy Mayor Tanya Higgins.Andrew Thaler was elected to Snowy Monaro Regional Council in 2024. (ABC News)When the application for the AVO was first lodged by Cr Higgins in Cooma in October, the court heard Cr Thaler had allegedly made derogatory remarks about her on his social media.On Thursday, Acting Judge Robert Rabbidge ordered Cr Thaler not to approach or contact Cr Higgins, except through a lawyer or while conducting council business at council premises.The contact is allowed only while both remain councillors and Cr Thaler must not use threatening or offensive language.Cr Thaler was also ordered not to refer to the deputy mayor on social media in any way that was offensive, derogatory or threatening.'Challenging' behaviourThe situation has drawn criticism from NSW government MPs.During a visit to Bega on Thursday, Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig described Cr Thaler's behaviour as "challenging".Ron Hoenig says Andrew Thaler's behaviour has affected councillors and members of parliament. (ABC South East NSW: Mikayla McGuirk-Scolaro)"It has broken my heart to see what the impact of bad behaviour is on Snowy Monaro," he said."They have had all the challenges of the merger; they've had all the financial challenges."The behaviour of this person hasn't just been to other councillors, it's been to other members of parliament, so his behaviour is challenging."Mr Hoenig said Cr Thaler was a factor in his decision to introduce new legislation proposing councillor misconduct matters be heard by the Land and Environment Court, instead of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)."If this legislation goes through, issues like the issues of Cr Thaler would have been dealt with in a matter of weeks," he said.Steve Whan believes there are some councillors in the electorate seeking to make council dysfunctional. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)Monaro Labor MP Steve Whan said while he could not comment on the court's decision, residents in the area deserved better."I think there are people on the Snowy Monaro Council who are making a great effort, but there's some who seem to be seeking to make it dysfunctional," he said."I think that the voters of the Snowy Monaro would expect their councillors to focus on making the council work and not spending their time creating division and creating difficulties for the delivery of all services."In a statement, Snowy Monaro Regional Council said it was seeking advice on the decision and could not comment at this time.Thaler to appeal decisionCr Thaler told the ABC he would appeal against the decision to the NSW District Court."This is now the third interim AVO that has been granted against me," he said.Cr Thaler said he told the court the matter should have been adjourned because the hearing had already been part-heard by the court's regular sitting Judge Razia Shafiq last month."How can another judge interpose themselves into a matter that's part-heard and not hear any of the evidence, and just rely solely on a submission?" he said."It's not how it works at law."Tanya Higgins applied for an AVO against Andrew Thaler earlier this year. (ABC South East NSW: Mikayla McGuirk-Scolaro)After the order was handed down, Cr Higgins told the ABC she would not comment on the matter as the hearing was ongoing.The interim order will remain in place until the hearing resumes on April 9 next year.