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Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig has been slammed for making “tone-deaf” comments after responding to a female councillor by asking whether she changes her partner’s mind by “standing over him with a wooden spoon”.
A spokeswoman for Hoenig initially told the Herald that he “does not recognise the characterisation” after his remarks were put to him. Five days later, after a recording of the event became available, the 73-year-old minister said he regretted “a poor choice of words”.
Hoenig, the longstanding member for the seat of Heffron, which covers Sydney’s inner south, and one of Premier Chris Minns’ closest allies, faced intense pressure last year after it was revealed he pushed to speed up a tribunal submission and influence a Labor mayoral preselection despite the protests of his most senior bureaucrat.
The minister made the comments on Friday, March 27, during a question-and-answer session after his address on the first day of the Australian Local Government Women’s Association Conference in Doonside, in Sydney’s west.
A regional councillor asked the minister whether he would consider relaxing the recently updated council code of conduct that largely prevents councillors attending local government meetings remotely, particularly in country and outer suburban areas, in light of the fuel crisis.
“Have you ever been able to convince your partner to change their view, if you’re not standing over him with a wooden spoon?” Hoenig responded.
Orange City councillor Melanie McDonell, who was present during the minister’s remarks, described the comments as unnecessary and violence-laden.
“They were more than tone-deaf; they were offensive,” she said.
Northern Beaches Council mayor Sue Heins said the room had “audibly groaned” after Hoenig referenced the wooden spoon. She attributed the remarks to Hoenig being from a different generation.
“I don’t take what he said literally but it was offensive,” she said.
“That was totally the wrong thing to say to a group of strong-minded women who are leaders in their community. They don’t need to hear that kind of rhetoric.”
A ministerial spokeswoman last week said Hoenig “does not recognise the characterisation”.
“The session was conversational in nature, and at one point he made a light-hearted, self-deprecating remark referencing his wife being ‘in charge’ at home. It was not directed at any individual councillor nor connected to the question as suggested,” she said.
This week, Hoenig provided an updated statement: “I regret that it was a poor choice of words.”
“It was an off-the-cuff remark that wasn’t directed at anyone in the room. I had intended to share a light, self-deprecating anecdote about my wife but returned to the policy discussion before finishing it, which meant the comment came across as a poor choice of words,” he said.
The Office of Local Government’s new code of conduct states councillors can join council meetings by video link only if they are otherwise prevented by ill-health, other medical reasons or because of unforeseen caring responsibilities.
In November 2024, Hoenig, who served as mayor of Botany Council for 31 years until he entered parliament in 2012, told the Tamworth Local Government Conference he gave a young female apprentice $500 so she could purchase a strapless black dress, according to The Daily Mail.
“She said she didn’t think she could afford to keep the dress and that she was going to sell it. I then, some time after that, sent her a gift voucher for $500 so she could keep her dress, which I did quietly,” Hoenig later told estimates in February 2025.
Asked by Liberal MP Aileen MacDonald whether a personal gift from a senior male minister to a young female apprentice “could be perceived as inappropriate”, Hoenig responded: “I wouldn’t think so.”
The fresh comments come less than six months after a senior public servant alleged he was pushed by Hoenig to accelerate a matter involving then-Labor mayor Bill Saravinovski. Several Labor members, including one of Minns’ closest lieutenants, were working to replace the Bayside mayor with Ed McDougall, chief of staff of Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper.
OLG deputy secretary Brett Whitworth told a secret parliamentary hearing Hoenig approached him after meetings, pushing him to accelerate the submission to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The minister persisted despite Whitworth telling him his involvement in the matter was improper.
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