Council Watch head hit with interim court order over alleged harassment of mayor

The head of a local government advocacy organisation has been issued an interim personal safety intervention order over allegations of ongoing harassment towards an inner-city Melbourne mayor. 

Stonnington Mayor Melina Sehr told the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week she had endured six years of targeted harassment from Dean Hurlston, who runs the Council Watch organisation.

Cr Sehr said his alleged behaviour towards her had escalated in the three months since Victoria Police served him with an application for an interim personal safety intervention order (PSIO).

A PSIO protects an individual from unwanted behaviour, including physical and mental harm; an interim order can be made until an application for a final order is determined.

The interim order prevents Mr Hurlston from approaching or contacting Cr Sehr, however he is permitted to attend public council meetings.

Mr Hurlston told the court he was a citizen journalist who agitated on behalf of the community and posed no risk to Ms Sehr’s safety. He said he would argue against a final order being made at a hearing set down for June.

The initial application, made by Victoria Police on Cr Sehr’s behalf, was denied by a magistrate in January, but it was heard for a second time last week and again on Tuesday after further evidence was filed with the court in early April.

On April 23, Victoria Police withdrew its application minutes before it was presented to Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz, telling the court it was under-resourced and had “no time” to read Cr Sehr’s 26 pages of evidence.

Police later told the court they had reviewed the document and deemed the content “political in nature”.

Cr Sehr’s affidavit was not made public, however she was questioned in court about its contents last week.

Court hears of alleged ‘harassment’

The court heard allegations from Ms Sehr that Mr Hurlston made social media posts on consecutive days claiming Cr Sehr had misled the court and abused the judicial process.

Photos published on Council Watch social media accounts of police officers issuing Mr Hurlston the interim order were also mentioned in court, along with a public petition demanding Cr Sehr step down as mayor.

Cr Sehr told the court she had been subject to an “unrelenting stream of mockery, belittlement and abuse” from Mr Hurlston.

Mr Hurlston, who represented himself, told the court last week he received the affidavit less than 24 hours before the scheduled appearance and had “no opportunity to refute any of the allegations made”.

He said he posed no safety threat to Cr Sehr and was simply interested in retaining his right to be able to watch and comment on council meetings.

Mr Hurlston told the court although Council Watch language was at times “salacious” and “brutal”, he was a “citizen journalist” whose role was to “agitate” on behalf of the community.

Magistrate Mykytowycz on Tuesday ruled that, on the balance of probabilities, an interim order was necessary to protect Cr Sehr’s safety pending a final hearing.

She said Mr Hurlston’s alleged behaviour — which Cr Sehr alleged included “mendacious” emails to Cr Sehr under false identities, public “slurs”, and personalised attacks “camouflaged by a broader discourse grounded in political commentary” — would fall within the definition of “harassment”.

Magistrate Mykytowycz said although she did not believe Cr Sehr was at risk of physical harm, the evidence presented showed the alleged conduct had caused “severe anxiety and hence mental harm” that would worsen if allowed to continue.

Mr Hurlston, who is not facing criminal charges, and Cr Sehr will next appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in June for a three-day contested hearing over the civil matter.