Mayor Ned Mannoun of Liverpool City Council recently displayed a detailed corkboard in a colleague’s office, mapping out his political rivals with arrows and strings amid piles of evidence folders. In a professionally produced Facebook video before a key ward byelection, the Liberal mayor highlighted opposition from fellow councillors, state MPs, and a union official, who has initiated defamation proceedings. The council faces conspiracies and chaos, following a public inquiry by the Office of Local Government last year. It now risks administration pending recommendations. Deputy Mayor Betty Green resigned abruptly in January, citing the council’s “brutal, crass politics” that left her in a “psychological mess.”
The Corkboard Conspiracy
Mannoun promised more videos exposing the “cold, hard truth,” but only the corkboard surfaced, underscoring deep divisions at Liverpool City Council, known for exceptional turmoil.
Doxxing Accusation Sparks Outrage
A brief clip in Mannoun’s video showed a NSW Electoral Commission donation disclosure with an address tied to Councillor-turned-state Labor MP Charishma Kaliyanda. Kaliyanda accused the mayor of doxxing her home address on social media, drawing thousands of reactions. Property records confirm she sold the property in 2021 and rents it out now. Kaliyanda verified she no longer resides there, stating: “Given the level of attention this matter has attracted, and following discussions with NSW Police and Parliamentary Security, I won’t be engaging in further commentary on my personal details.” She emphasized: “The mayor knowingly published private information relating to three female political opponents to tens of thousands of people in a highly charged environment. That decision was reckless.”
Roots of the Feud: The Porkgate Scandal
The rivalry between Mannoun and conservative independent councillor Peter Ristevski, once business partners, ignited over “Porkgate.” Before politics, Mannoun operated a training organization where Ristevski handled accounting. Tensions rose during interfaith events under Mannoun’s leadership, when Ristevski objected to pork-free menus offending his Orthodox Macedonian community. Current Deputy Mayor Peter Harle recalls: “I kid you not, that then caused a lot of problems. That’s the reason that the council started to fall apart halfway through, because of that interfaith dinner … Oh, it got nasty, and it’s been going on ever since.” Mannoun’s 2024 defamation suit against Ristevski for calling him a “crim” failed in NSW District Court, as it did not prove serious reputational harm.
AI Images Fuel Online Attacks
Ristevski has used AI-generated content on social media to criticize Mannoun, posting about council mismanagement and targeting the mayor’s Muslim faith by using his birth name, Nader. One post mocked Mannoun’s Saudi Arabia trip with an AI image of him in a thawb, dubbing him “JETSET SHEIKH NADER.” Last month, Ristevski shared an AI image of Muslim men praying in a Chipping Norton community centre car park, claiming it as a prayer hall without evidence. He liked comments suggesting violence, like “nothing a Super Soaker full of petrol wouldn’t fix,” “so the plan is to rock up with super soakers,” and “tear gas them,” replying to the last: “something must be done.” Ristevski claims he believed the image was real initially, as “I know it does happen,” and that liking comments means acknowledgment, not endorsement. Mannoun responds: “As much as I try to live my life not thinking about him, every single day someone raises it with me … I’m sure if the recipient was someone else from another political party, they’d be raging.”
Deputy Mayor’s Exit Amid Brutal Politics
Harle, a veteran councillor, urges the Office of Local Government to staff meetings due to the feud’s intensity. He succeeded Green, who quit Labor in October and the council in January for health reasons. Green now reveals: “My doctor said to me, ‘You have to make some decisions about your quality of life. You can’t go on like this.’ Did I want to resign? No, I didn’t, but I had no choice.” A former feminist collective member and domestic violence advocate, she states: “I spent 17 years in a feminist collective. I thought, ‘I can do politics’. But this kind of brutal, crass politics that is about destroying the other person, it just blows my mind. I’m a pretty strong cookie, but if someone had said to me beforehand, ‘you’re going to end up in a psychological mess’, I would have laughed at them.”
Green broke party lines against Ristevski’s often “illegal, illogical” motions. Her tipping point: accepting a Liberal nomination for deputy mayor in September, prompting United Services Union trucks with LED screens demanding her resignation, calling her “confused” and uncommitted to Labor values. Green shares: “When the truck was going around, I ended up doing my shopping in another LGA. People look at you. I thought, ‘oh God, Betty, you’re losing your mind’. But public humiliation on the stress scale is equal to the loss of a spouse.” Kaliyanda notes: “This was one of those situations where at every point de-escalation could have been possible [but] it escalated. I don’t think the union’s response necessarily helped de-escalate the situation.” Union manager Steve Donley cites future litigation, saying: “The truth will come out eventually.”
Green now researches bullying in local government, where 42% of NSW female councillors avoid recommending it due to harassment. She compares stagnant Liverpool to Fort Denison: “There’s a whole lot of activity around it but there’s nothing happening inside it.” The council teeters amid the inquiry.
