City of Wanneroo mayor Linda Aitken slammed on social media for dropping the f-bomb at council meeting

City of Wanneroo mayor Linda Aitken has come under fire on social media after an apparent f-bomb slip-up during a recent council meeting. The incident occurred nearly three hours into the March council meeting as the council discussed a request for the night-time closure and increased security of a public boardwalk and jetty at Mindarie Marina. The mayor appeared frustrated after one councillor left the room and another was out of their seat talking. “I note that Cr Rowe has left the room and Cr Berry’s talking about something over the corner there, I might just cease the meeting for about five minutes until they return. Thank you,” Ms Aitken said. However, shortly after an expletive was overheard via a microphone. “What the f… does he do to…” Ms Aitken seemed to say to CEO Bill Parker before quickly switching her microphone off. The livestream of the meeting resumed around 10 minutes later, marking the second 10-minute break of the session, which lasted just under five hours. When the meeting resumed, the council ultimately resolved to maintain public access to the boardwalk and jetty at Mindarie Marina, while also supporting further investigation into additional safety measures. The clip of the incident was uploaded to the Associated Residents & Ratepayers City of Wanneroo Facebook group. “The mayor leading by example in her role as head of culture ..... not!” the post said. “Some councilors (sic) aren’t allowed to go to the loo but other (sic) have already left .... as usual ..... interesting.” Under the City of Wanneroo’s code of conduct for council members, committee members and candidates, a council member “must not use offensive or derogatory language when referring to another person”. The city told PerthNow it was “aware of comments made” during the last ordinary council meeting and was “addressing the matter”, but was not able to provide further details.