{
  "id": 14102684,
  "title": "Alderman seeking re-election suspended for allegedly touching female staff",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/alderman-seeking-re-election-suspended-for-allegedly-touching-female",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-13T02:51:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-13/glenorchy-council-peter-ridler-code-of-conduct-breaches/107258924"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Glenorchy City Council alderman Peter Ridler has been suspended for a period of one month following a disciplinary hearing. The decision came after a local government code of conduct panel found him guilty of inappropriate behavior, including touching female council employees on the shoulders and waist, and making offensive comments. Ridler, who is currently seeking re-election, was found to have breached the code of conduct on multiple occasions in November and December 2024. Despite his claims that he was aware of the issues raised, the panel determined that his behavior exhibited a \"lack of awareness of proper conduct in modern Australian society, particularly in the workplace.\" The panel also noted that Ridler had a history of similar behavior and had disregarded advice from the acting chief executive.",
  "summary": "A code of conduct panel found Glenorchy Alderman Peter Ridler breached the code by touching female staff and telling one to \"stick to your knitting and get back to the kitchen\".",
  "key_points": [
    "Glenorchy alderman Peter Ridler suspended for one month",
    "Found guilty of inappropriate touching and offensive comments",
    "Multiple breaches in November and December 2024"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The disciplinary action signals a tightening of workplace standards for local officials as councils move to enforce professional boundaries and address repeated breaches of the code of conduct.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}