The councillor, the local paper and a free passage to India
It all started when a deputy mayor accepted an all-expenses-paid trip to Kerala, India.
The trip will facilitate trade, business and tourism opportunities and will be paid for by Kerala’s tourism board and Malaysia Airlines, according to Hawkesbury Council’s Sarah McMahon. Despite concerns from some colleagues, including one who warned that “free trips are never free,” a majority of councilors approved the international trade delegation. Then the local newspaper picked up the story and everything started to unravel.
Two days later it was announced that McMahon’s trip had been postponed indefinitely and the council began issuing crisis notices. So what happened?
Mayor Les Sheather said McMahon’s invitation to travel to India came as a “late request” from the Sydney Hills Chamber of Commerce ahead of the Feb. 17 council meeting. The week-long trip was originally planned for March 1.
While the Kerala State Government’s Department of Tourism and Malaysia Airlines have undertaken the bill, the council said in a press release that it would not provide any financial support other than $400 towards airport taxes. But Independent councilor Nathan Zamprogno, one of two councilors who voted against McMahon’s plans, said there was “no such thing as a free ride”.
“In my view, this is even worse than the council paying for the travel itself, because there will now be questions about what the ‘compensation’ will be for the thousands of dollars spent on airfare, accommodation and similar expenses,” he said.
“It doesn’t pass the pub test.”
At the meeting, Sheather supported the international visit, saying “opportunities like this don’t come along very often” and the deputy mayor was also asked to attend.
“I hope what comes of this [is] “Let it be beneficial to our society,” he said.
A mayoral memorandum showed how the trip would be financed and said a report would be written following the visit to provide feedback. It was not stated what the delegation would include or why the deputy mayor was chosen.
Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig said it was “up to the council to decide whether it is appropriate and in the best interests of the community to accept the invitation”.
Tensions are heating up
Predictably, McMahon’s sanctioned visit caught the attention of the community and Hawkesbury Gazette He published three articles about it. Reports questioning how the trade mission would benefit Hawkesbury residents drew the ire of the deputy mayor, who accused the newspaper of peddling “misinformation” that was “vile, destructive and evil”.
Referring to Kooryn Sheaves, a former TAFE teacher who became the head of the newspaper, the newspaper’s publisher posted: “Enough is enough, Kooryn. You have to stop.” Newspaper From Australian Community Media in 2023. Newspaper McMahon, who said the majority of the trip will be externally funded, said Sheaves wants residents to believe the costs will be paid by taxpayers.
McMahon told reporter She believed that the newspaper was encouraging a dialogue of hatred and contempt against her because on International Women’s Day it published the article titled “you know it will do great harm to the female deputy mayor.”
“I would give him a lot of encouragement to continue if he covered it in a positive way,” McMahon said of the Gazette publisher. “And, for example, to highlight the deliberate attempt to harm me, this news was removed in prime time on International Women’s Day on Sunday.”
Sheaves said he was shocked by McMahon’s response to the article. “I think the language was inappropriate and it was blown out of proportion, completely blown out of proportion,” he said. So he published another article on this topic; The title of this article was “The War of Words in Hawkesbury.”
“What started as a review of a council-approved trip abroad has since turned into accusations, social media backlash and a broader discussion about how elected representatives will respond when the public pushes back.” Newspaper he told his readers.
The tension between the newspaper and the deputy mayor has been ongoing since the newspaper was closed and restarted in 2025. Hawkesbury Postanother local media outlet.
The international trade delegation is expected to be rescheduled to a later date. NewspaperHe said he would follow the story.
Sydney Morning Herald It has an office in the heart of Parramatta. Email parramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.
