Former Stonnington mayor Jami Klisaris has launched defamation proceedings against the head of a council watchdog organisation, alleging he falsely accused her of sexual harassment and corruption, and circulated manipulated images ridiculing her appearance, according to a Herald Sun report.
A writ lodged in the County Court asserts that Council Watch president Dean Hurlston caused “serious harm” to Councillor Klisaris’s reputation through a series of posts on the Council Watch Facebook page and on X (formerly Twitter).
The Herald Sun reports that the posts allegedly included “persistent and baseless allegations of corruption and bullying,” along with derogatory comments about her appearance — including digitally altered images placing her face on animals’ bodies. The writ states that the posts encouraged “abusive, offensive and intimidatory behaviour” towards her.
Klisaris is also suing over what she says is a false allegation that she “relentlessly” sexually harassed Hurlston’s partner and fellow councillor, former Stonnington mayor Joe Gianfriddo, by “touching him repeatedly on the upper thigh.”
According to the writ, Hurlston’s alleged “vendetta” against Klisaris began in 2021, when she supported a contentious proposal for a new sports centre at Percy Treyvaud Memorial Park in Malvern East — a development opposed by both Hurlston and Gianfriddo, who live nearby.
The claim further alleges that Hurlston used Council Watch and his social media platforms to “persistently and unreasonably criticise, abuse and vilify” Klisaris over council matters, and to promote defamatory Facebook posts and advertisements during the October 2024 local government elections, in which both she and Gianfriddo contested the Malvern Ward.
Klisaris is seeking aggravated damages on the basis that she was “humiliated and embarrassed” and exposed to “public hatred, scandal and contempt,” damaging her reputation both as a councillor and as a practising solicitor.
According to the Herald Sun, the writ describes her as Stonnington’s youngest-ever mayor with an “unblemished reputation” for integrity and professionalism prior to the alleged defamatory conduct.
Hurlston, represented by leading defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC, denies the allegations and maintains that his comments are “substantially true.” He told the Herald Sun: “More will be said in the defence and it will not be good for many people involved with Stonnington Council.”
His defence argues that Council Watch functions as a body holding local government to account, and states that he made two “reasonable offers to make amends,” both rejected by Klisaris. He also dismissed the claim that his actions arose from a “vendetta” as “embarrassing” and irrelevant.
Councillor Klisaris declined to comment.
It was reported in July that Hurlston had been issued with a two-year intervention order preventing him from stalking or harassing current Stonnington mayor Melina Sehr, following what the court heard was an “unrelenting stream of mockery, belittlement and abuse” dating back to 2019. Hurlston denies targeting Councillor Sehr and is appealing the ruling.
