A FAMILY meeting last April between Kevin Duffy, his wife Sandra and his children where the would-be Orange councillor announced his intentions to move to Orange to contest the council elections was “a bald lie” and an “invention”, a tribunal heard yesterday.
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Cr Duffy fronted the Administrative Decisions Tribunal (ADT) at Orange Court House yesterday in an attempt to prove he lives in Orange and defend his eligibility to be an Orange councillor.
The Orange Ratepayers Association (ORA) began legal proceedings before the tribunal against Cr Duffy in January when it claimed the former Cabonne councillor still lived at his Borenore property Fairbank instead of Orange, making him ineligible for a place on council.
The tribunal heard that Cr Duffy had met with his wife Sandra and his children in April, 2012 to announce his intention to move to Orange in order to contest the council election.
But the man representing ORA member John Da Rin in the case, Lindsay Johnston, challenged Cr Duffy’s version of events saying it was “a bald lie” and an “invention”.
Cr Duffy spent several hours in the witness box being cross-examined by Mr Johnston who is also the ORA’s public officer.
The tribunal heard Cr Duffy’s son Robert Duffy agreed to let him move into his home at 1 Duncanson Drive on April 29, 2012 in exchange for agisting three horses on Cr Duffy’s Borenore property.
The tribunal’s president, Judge Kevin O’Connor said the case centred on whether Cr Duffy was living in Orange three months before the declaration of polls on September 20, 2012 after the election.
Cr Duffy’s solicitor Grant Butterfield said he would not cross-examine the witness statements of ORA members Colin Young, Ronald Matthews, Brian Wood, Mr Da Rin, and Cyril Smith because much of their evidence had come from outside the relevant time period in question.
Judge O’Connor said he was reluctant to exclude the evidence from after the August 8 candidate nomination date, saying it could have “marginal relevance” to the case.
Cr Duffy said his wife was the only person living at his Borenore property between June 17 and August 8.
He told the tribunal he no longer had a key for the house since Mrs Duffy had started locking the home in recent weeks.
“I have a key for 1 Duncanson Drive,” he said.
Mr Johnston questioned if Cr Duffy was still “happily married” to his wife.
Cr Duffy said: “I assume so. She’s still around.”
During the lengthy cross-examination, Cr Duffy confirmed he had a bedroom in the Duncanson Drive home and he kept a number of personal items there.
Several Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) documents were tendered where Cr Duffy had incorrectly given his address as 2 Duncanson Way.
Earlier in proceedings, Mr Johnston called Robert Duffy’s neighbour Erin McRae as a witness to verify sightings of Cr Duffy at the house.
Ms McRae said she had seen an older man at the house.
“But I didn’t pay any attention to his age or his hair colour,” she said.
“I’d seen him drive off at around 7.30 - 8pm at night but I didn’t know I was going to be tested. It’s just like with any neighbours, you see them come and go.”
Ms McRae told the tribunal she could not recall seeing Cr Duffy’s Toyota van at the home.
Judge O’Connor soon interrupted the questioning saying he could not see the connection between Ms McRae’s cross-examination and the Duffy residence.
“The neighbour hasn’t had a lot to say whether Mr Duffy lives there or not,” he said.
The case is expected to continue in mid-June when the tribunal will hear from Mrs Duffy, Robert Duffy and again Cr Duffy.