‘I sparked Ronald blue’

By Paul Dunlop
GEMBROOK’S township committee president has declared himself as the man whose words sparked a chain of events that led to Cardinia Shire councillor Bill Ronald’s assault on chief executive officer Don Welsh.
Bob Farr said he was the ‘71yearold pensioner’ whose defamation settlement with Mr Welsh was said in Dandenong Magistrates’ Court last week to have prompted Cr Ronald to confront the CEO in a Melbourne car park in July.
Cr Ronald received a sixmonth good behaviour bond and was ordered to pay $125 to the court fund after pleading guilty to one charge of unlawful assault.
The court heard Cr Ronald was upset because Mr Welsh had taken and won the defamation action and that his intended verbal clash with the CEO escalated into a physical confrontation.
Mr Farr last week said he was speaking for the first time about the affair in a bid to clear the air.
“Bill Ronald is getting the blame for everything and people keep hearing about a 71yearold pensioner. I thought it was about time I said something,” Mr Farr said.
“Ratepayers have also been passing around the hat for me and I thought they deserved an explanation.”
Mr Farr said the defamation action resulted from something he had said about the CEO’s contract at a rural review meeting at Gembrook in August last year.
Mr Farr said he regarded what he said as a question, not a statement.
He said he was contacted after the meeting by Mr Welsh and told that the CEO had received legal advice that his words were defamatory.
Mr Farr said he agreed at a mediation at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to make a settlement with Mr Welsh.
“I wanted to put it behind me and get on with my life,” he said.
Mr Farr said he regretted the repercussions of his words but maintained he did not mean to cause offence.
He said Cr Ronald had travelled to Melbourne to support him on the day of the mediation.
The confrontation between Cr Ronald and Mr Welsh took place later the same day.
Mr Welsh told the Gazette on Monday he was entitled to protect his professional reputation the same way as anyone else.
He said Mr Farr had been given several opportunities to withdraw what he had said and that he (the CEO) had been ‘forced down a path he didn’t want to go down’.
Mr Welsh said he had acted against his own legal advice in accepting the settlement offer made by Mr Farr.
He described the terms of the settlement as ‘very generous to Mr Farr’.
Mr Welsh maintained that Mr Farr’s words were a statement not a question and said Mr Farr had previously acknowledged that.
He said it was incorrect for Mr Farr to assert otherwise.
Mr Welsh said he was “absolutely staggered” that the issue was now being reported in the media.