Stonnington Council faces antisemitism royal commission investigation

Stonnington Council has been referred to the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohestion after it deferred a decision last December to install a menorah at Malvern Town Hall.

The City of Stonnington is a local government area in Melbourne’s inner south-east with a large Jewish population. According to the Herald-Sun, Stonnington resident, Josh Fast, made the formal submission that triggered the referral. He requested the commission investigate whether the deferral was motivated by legitimate procedural reasons or by animus towards the Jewish community.

At the ordinary council meeting on 1 December 2025, councillors voted four-four on a motion to approve the menorah at Malvern Town Hall. Mayor Cr Melina Sehr used her casting vote to support deferral.

Cr. Tom Humphries labelled the deferral “nothing short of antisemitic”, prompting calls for him to withdraw the remark. The decision drew jeers of “shame” from Jewish community members in the public gallery. Cr Steve Stefanopoulos said the deferral was needed so councillors could be briefed by staff, while Mayor Sehr defended her casting vote as the “lawful, responsible and correct action” under the Victorian Local Government Act. She insisted the decision was not political, personal or discriminatory.

In the aftermath, Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, Dvir Abramovich, described the deferral as “a slap in the face” to the Jewish community. Caulfield MP David Southwick called the meeting “a disgrace” and labelled the council as “Chanukah Grinch.”

Following significant community pressure, the council held a special meeting on 9 December and unanimously approved the installation of the menorah on the balcony of Stonnington City Centre on Glenferrie Road, opposite the Town Hall. Mayor Sehr described the revised location as “safer and more suitable.” After the Bondi terror attack, police requested the Chanukah festival be hosted inside Malvern Town Hall for security reasons, and the council complied.

Stonnington Council recognises other cultural and religious events, including Christmas, Eid, the Chinese New Year, and Greek Easter. Mr Fast said it was “staggering” that the menorah decision was deferred when other observances were already acknowledged.

City of Stonnington chief executive Dale Dickson has defended the council’s actions and said it is cooperating fully with the royal commission by providing data on reported antisemitic incidents, policy positions and training materials. The council is developing a civic recognition policy for days of significance, expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, and is reviewing the location for a menorah in 2026.

Separately, members of Melbourne’s Jewish community have raised serious concerns over an alleged confrontation involving several Stonnington councillors at a Chabad Chanukah gathering at Malvern Town Hall in December 2025, just days after the Bondi terror attack. According to multiple attendees, councillors spoke disrespectfully to a rabbi and to Liberal MP David Southwick inside the hall before the situation escalated outside.

Witnesses allege one councillor followed Mr. Southwick and engaged him in a loud, heated exchange, challenging his comments in state parliament on the Menorah issue and blaming him for hate mail received by councillors. Earlier in the evening, attendees reportedly directed disrespectful remarks at the rabbi.

Council Watch Victoria, a local government watchdog, first reported the allegations in early 2026. Mr Southwick has confirmed an altercation took place but declined to comment further. It remains unclear why the claims only emerged months later.

The latest claims come against a backdrop of earlier controversy. In October 2023, council workers removed posters depicting Israelis taken hostage by Hamas from public infrastructure, citing enforcement of local laws on unauthorised materials regardless of content. Jewish community members viewed the action as silencing pro-Israel voices.

No detailed public rebuttal of the alleged confrontation at the Chanukah event has been issued.