On Tuesday, councillors voted 6-3 to investigate the possibility of passing bylaws to stop councillors from making negative comments about each other verbally or in electronic or printed formats.

Cr Mayne’s rescission motion will be considered at the council’s next general meeting on December 13.

The motion, put forward by councillor Graeme Macmillan, also requested that council cease posting all audio recordings of council meetings on the council website. About 3000 people access the web page hosting the online audio recordings each year, according to council statistics.

In a heated speech to council chambers – that turned into a 45-minute debate between councillors – Cr Macmillan accused Cr Mayne of publishing false and offensive information about him online at the Vex News blog on November 7.

Cr Macmillan said he had no plans to sue Cr Mayne for defamation in court.

Cr David Ellis said any accusations of councillor misconduct should be directed to councillor conduct panels, run by councils and assisted by the Municipal Association of Victoria.

Cr Macmillan said the panels were ineffective. Cr Mayne said last night’s council meeting was one of the most embarrassing moments of the current council’s history.

He said the investigation was a threat to free speech and may go against Australia’s implied right to free speech on political matters.