ASSASSINS, SERIAL KILLERS & FREE SPEECH IN GINGIN


EXCLUSIVE: GINGIN shire will consider a motion tomorrow to ask the department of local government to investigate a social media page formerly run by two sitting councillors.
Council also will consider a new draft policy dictating councillors’ use of social media to ensure, “avoidance of negative and disparaging public commentary”.
Both motions were introduced at the annual general meeting of electors on February 3 by Bendigo board members Wendy Harris and Stephen Beckwith. Shire president Linda Balcombe is Bendigo board’s executive officer who will vote on the motions with Cr Robert Kestel who is a non-executive director at Bendigo.
In what appears to be a council witchhunt, Gingin’s reporting officer and acting CEO James Bayliss will recommend an independent investigation to identify the administrator of ‘Voices of Gingin’ and determine if the site breaches any relevant legislation (CEO Scott Wildgoose was suspended at a confidential council meeting on February 26 after the council announced a ‘workplace investigation’ whose details StreetWise cannot reveal at this stage).
“It should include identifying the administrator of the page which may trigger an investigation by the Corruption and Crime Commission. The use and misuse of social media is becoming increasingly prevalent in society, with local governments experiencing increasing incidents where cyber communications negatively impact local government operations and governance as well as the health and safety of elected members and employees.
“In the event Council forms the view that it is in the interests of electors to investigate and probe the origins and administrators of the Voices of Gingin page given the rhetoric, the officer will investigate the engagement of specialist IT consultants as in-house expertise does not exist. This approach would have budget implications, which can be considered moving forward pending Council’s position. There could be a perception that the Shire is interfering with freedom of speech and a separate community engagement forum if the motion is supported. However, if the motion is not supported then it potentially creates a reputational risk if people believe the Shire is apathetic to the conduct of the page.”
Voices of Gingin was formerly called ‘Gingin Ratepayer Collective’ administered by Gingin councillors Lincoln Stewart and David Weeks, who left the page in 2023 when they decided to run for council.
The page was renamed Voices of Gingin and is administered by AI and accessed via the same profile account by several people, mostly ratepayers from Gingin. One of the ratepayers who took over the site for a short time said she did not want to be named as she was concerned over retribution from council.
“The amount of shit that’s been piled on people whether warranted or not is pretty horrible. I’ve lived in Gingin a long time and yeah it’s crazy. I took over the page to keep it open on the proviso I would not post anything because I’m not computer savvy. I handed it over because of so much flak.
“We also were investigated by the local government inspector Steven Bertoli. The shire president even approached me … but I told her I was not involved anymore.” (Mr Bertoli contacted StreetWise today wanting to discuss a ‘recent’ report on council’s dysfunction).
Crs Stewart and Weeks also were reported for breaching local government rules when they made comments at a court of disputed returns hearing covered exclusively by StreetWise on January 30 (‘Multiple 2025 Election Results Under Scrutiny’). As a result, Crs Stewart and Weeks were reported for breaching local government rules after they spoke to StreetWise and other media in Perth (‘Gingin breaches undermine local governance’, February 18, 2026).
Gingin is one of five councils including Fremantle challenging the WAEC handling of the 2025 elections.
On February 17, Cr Stewart delivered to the CEO a letter of demand for the shire to remove from its online registry a complaint against him on a different issue that was overturned last month by the SAT.
StreetWise contacted the shire yesterday asking whether the motions were targeted at Cr Stewart and whether it also would investigate two other now defunct sites ‘John Booth’ and ‘Ed Gein’ where the mayor, councillors and members of the public disparaged and threatened Cr Stewart.
StreetWise understands the Booth page was established by the shire president’s husband Steve Balcombe who named the site after John Wilkes Booth who assassinated US president Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The site was deleted at the start of this year after WA Police charged Mr Balcombe with making phone threats against Cr Stewart.
Mr Balcombe has appeared in court to face violence restraining orders but the matter was adjourned until his criminal charges could be heard. The charges carry a sentence of up to seven years imprisonment.
Also known as the ‘Butcher of Plainfield’ in Wisconsin, US serial killer Ed Gein in the mid-1950s stole corpses from local graveyards to fashion furniture and clothing from the human remains including a belt made from nipples, bowls from skulls and leggings from human skin.
“Will the shire also include identifying the admins of the now removed John Booth site reportedly run by the mayor’s husband and the now defunct Ed Gein site?” Crickets.
The Gein site was active when Cr Stewart ran as a federal Senate candidate in 2025. Cr Stewart when approached for comment by StreetWise said any investigation should also include a social media post on the WA Police Firearms Portal where his neighbour asked for help because she was having problems with a neighbour (Cr Stewart) who she claimed murdered her husband. Cr Stewart said the threats against him, his animals and wildlife sanctuary started in May last year. He said he alerted the shire president who replied, having liked the post, “Oh dear that’s not good … you can call me if needed at any time”. Nothing further happened.
The second motion on councillors’ use of social media also moved to consider a new policy, noting the mover’s (Cr Stephen Beckwith) reasons including internal challenges of council being aired publicly.
“The community does not benefit from councillors publicly commenting on legal matters, investigations or court proceedings; public commentary on how individual councillors vote or conduct themselves in meetings; airing of private or sensitive matters in a way that is harmful to all parties involved.”
It added: “The behaviour risks normalising a toxic culture, discouraging capable future candidates from standing for council and exposing the shire to reputational and governance risk.”
Additional stories at www.streetwisemedia.com.au.