Griffith councillor and former mayor Mike Neville has confirmed he no longer works for Corrective Services NSW.
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Cr Neville resigned in December last year after challenging the government department in the Industrial Relations Commission. The corrections officer was suspended in April last year after allegations of misconduct were made against him.
According to Cr Neville, it was alleged that on March 31, 2015 he made an offensive remark to a female colleague.
“The simple fact was proven to be false, I wasn’t there,” Cr Neville said.
Cr Neville said the allegations were investigated by Corrective Services NSW who found they were proven.
“I challenged that and the Industrial Relations Commission found in my favour,” Cr Neville said. “There was a confidential financial agreement and I chose to part company with them in December.”
The allegations were another blow for the former mayor who faced court twice in 2012 on charges of sexual assault. The first trial resulted in a hung jury and at the second trial he was acquitted on some counts and “no billed” by the Director of Public Prosecutions on others. “No billing” is a term sometimes used when prosecution is discontinued.
“The court matters cleared me,” Cr Neville said. “The two trials proved the allegations were false.”
Cr Neville said he was demoted by Corrective Services NSW after the trials due to “misconduct”.
“As a result of some of the evidence they hit me with misconduct,” Cr Neville said.
“The misconduct was a log sheet error. I was the district manager of community corrections and they made me a senior community corrections officer. It was a financial impost more than anything but I’ve moved on.”
Cr Neville said he challenged the demotion at the Industrial Relations Commission and they ruled his employer had the right to demote him.
“They didn’t say it was proven, just that the department has the right,” he said. “The important thing from my viewpoint is there were allegations raised that were proven to be false.”
Cr Neville said he appreciated the support of his family and the broader community during the past several years.
“I said from the start I was not guilty and I maintained my course as mayor,” he said. “Now that the elephant’s out of the room people can assume if Mike Neville says he’s going to do something he’ll do it.”
