Sydney councillor resigns from Hunter's Hill Council over 'toxic chamber'

In short:

Independent councillor Marc Lane resigned from Sydney's Hunter's Hill Council, citing his mental health and planning decisions made on political lines.

The mayor says robust but respectful debate happens in council chambers.

What's next?

Council is asking the NSW Electoral Commission about the process for filling the vacancy created by Mr Lane.

An independent councillor has quit a north shore Sydney council mid-term, citing his mental health and decisions he says are being made on political lines.

Marc Lane, elected in 2024, said he was leaving Hunters Hill Council, describing it in a social media video as a "toxic chamber".

Mr Lane, who tendered his resignation to council on Wednesday last week, said he disagreed with several council decisions he believed were made without independent advice of the Liberal-dominated council.

"Being in such a toxic chamber has its effect obviously on your mental health. No-one wants to be a punching bag once a month," Mr Lane said.

"Most of the decisions have been made on party political lines, and neither the community, nor independents, nor expert advice have been listened to in those decisions."

Mr Lane took aim at the council's plans to examine 18 parcels of council-owned land for potential sale, some of which is waterfront. He says the council is doing this without a financial reason.

"We are literally selling lands just because," Mr Lane said.

"No-one's asking for this to be sold."

Mr Lane, who has a background in city planning, also said the proposed redevelopment of Gladesville Shopping Village to add apartments up to 70 metres was being pursued without proper debate.

He also said a Liberal councillor had effectively "chilled" him from publicly communicating on social media on local campaigns.

He said this occurred after the councillor used a council meeting to ask the general manager whether they thought one of his campaign videos contained concerning or misleading content.

Mr Lane said the Office of Local Government told him the incident should never have occurred because the question should have been ruled a breach of the code of conduct.

"When you try and do something either speaking to the community or in the chamber … if I try and raise a motion, for example, that we need to address a particular thing … that's a bit of a sport for them."

Mayor says chamber is 'robust and engaged'

Hunters Hill Mayor Zac Miles said he hoped Mr Lane could get the help he needed and wished him all the best for the future.

In response to Mr Lane's description of the chamber as "toxic", Cr Miles said councillors behaved with integrity and respect as required by the Local Government Act.

"The public is welcome to view recordings of all previous council meetings available on our website which demonstrate a robust and engaged chamber," Cr Miles said.

He said council had not committed to any land sales.

"No land has been agreed to be sold, and council will have the opportunity to make a decision on any asset recycling following extensive community consultation in accordance with our policy," Cr Miles said.

He also said the Gladesville Shopping Village rezoning would bring "significant community outcomes" such as public infrastructure in Gladesville, more publicly accessible space and well-located housing opportunities.