Cr Johnson posted on Facebook following Wednesday night’s Ballarat City Council meeting.

It related to the council’s decision to refuse a 52-unit Hickman Street development and read in part: “...unlike others I actually took the time to view the site, attend the residents function, read all the submissions, research the developer’s case, attend a residents meeting with the director and table the petition against the motion of over 250 signatures”.

While Cr Johnson did not wish to comment to The Courier directly, she added another post late yesterday which read: “Last night I wrote a status about how much research and work I’d done around the Hickman street development to ensure I had a good understanding of the proposal. In saying this I did not in anyway wish to indicate that other councillors had not done a similar amount of research, or worked just as hard. We are a great team and we all make unique contributions which are valued by all.”

The Courier also surveyed the nine councillors to see who had visited the Hickman Street site.

Councillors Des Hudson, Samantha McIntosh, Belinda Coates, Peter Innes, Vicki Coltman and John Philips all said they had been to the site near White Flat oval and had done extensive research into the issue while Joshua Morris and mayor John Burt were not available for comment.