By ERIKA ALLEN
LATROBE City South Ward councillor Melissa Ferguson has announced she won’t be running for re-election.
Cr Ferguson took to social media to notify the community, saying, “I have made this decision after much consideration and reflection on my time serving as your councillor”.
Part of Cr Ferguson’s reflection highlighted the “difficult arbitration process” that resulted in a one-month suspension from duty throughout June and part of July this year.
The councillor made the announcement last Wednesday, about 21 days since her suspension for failing to issue an apology for posting retweets that independent arbiter Dr Meredith Gibbs found were “disrespectful to trans people”, was lifted.
The arbiter directed Cr Ferguson to apologise at a council meeting in September 2023. Rather than read an apology she composed, Cr Ferguson opted to read the direction to apologise verbatim.
Dr Gibbs said in the arbitration report that Cr Ferguson had breached the Council Code of Conduct by acting in her role as a council representative when, in 2023, she posted the retweets the arbitration report said: “(inferred) that trans people are paedophiles, grooming children and using their gender identity to legitimise paedophilic activities”.
This interpretation of the retweets has fuelled a tumultuous couple of months following Cr Ferguson’s suspension.
An ABC article published on June 5 incorrectly attributed Cr Ferguson to a tweet saying, “Trans people in general are predators, perpetrating perversion and abuse, and preying on children”.
The ABC apologised to Cr Ferguson for the error, citing that the misquote was a characterisation of the alleged meaning of a retweet by Cr Ferguson, as opposed to a direct quote from the retweet.
ABC added an editor’s note on July 11 at the bottom of the article titled ‘Latrobe City councillor Melissa Ferguson suspended for not apologising for anti-trans tweets’.
It said: “Cr Ferguson strongly disagrees with the characterisation of her retweet, describing the quoted words as an “offensive statement” which she did not make. The ABC apologises to Cr Ferguson for the error.”
Cr Ferguson defended herself at the arbitration hearing last August, saying she had the right to exercise freedom of expression and opinion, and that she was being attacked for having a different political view.
Cr Ferguson wrote on Facebook last Wednesday that “difference of opinion is vital, not a reason to troll and attempt to ruin people’s lives”.
The councillor continued, encouraging prospective candidates to “continue fighting for the return of common sense, democracy and fairness in our times”.
She urged the community to “vote wisely” when the election comes around in October.
In the meantime, Cr Ferguson said she would see out the remainder of her term “with the same level of honesty and integrity and will do my best to represent you as always around all distraction”.
“Thank you once again for your unwavering support. It has been an honour to serve you all,” Cr Ferguson wrote.
Some people in the community commented on the Facebook post, thanking Cr Ferguson and expressing sadness over the announcement.
