Federal MP Joanne Ryan has used parliament to urge the mayor of Wyndham City Council, Preet Singh, to resign over a character reference he wrote for a convicted child sex offender.
Cr Singh temporarily stepped aside as mayor of the municipality in Melbourne’s west when it emerged he had written the character reference for Kashyap Patel, who in 2024 was convicted of grooming and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.
Cr Singh apologised for any hurt and returned to the council several weeks later, although he has not taken part in public duties.
His colleagues called a meeting to pass a non-binding vote of no confidence in him, and one councillor has resigned due to the scandal.
The Labor member for Lalor, Joanne Ryan, told federal parliament this week it was disappointing that, five weeks after the character reference first came to light, Cr Singh had not resigned.
“His initial grievous lack of judgement is now compounded by his incapacity to understand the message his reference sends to our community about sickening, sustained criminal behaviour being trivialised,” she said.
“He should resign as mayor today.”
She said it was untenable for Cr Singh to continue in the role, having lost the support of his fellow councillors and the broader community.
“Despite community concern being expressed through petitions and protests, he insists that he is a victim of politically motivated attacks,” she said.
“This is ridiculous.”
Under the Local Government Act, councils are unable to remove a mayor who has been elected for a one-year term.
The Labor MP for the state seat of Werribee, John Lister, told parliament Cr Singh’s decision to provide the character reference was “abhorrent”.
Werribee MP John Lister told state parliament he would refuse to attend any meetings with Preet Singh. (Supplied)
“I will not be meeting with Cr Singh in any capacity,” he said, adding he would meet other councillors.
Cr Singh ran as the Liberal candidate for the state seat of Tarneit in 2022.
The mayor digs in
Cr Singh told the ABC the comments were a matter for Ms Ryan and Mr Lister.
“It’s not making any impact,” he said.
“If people want to play politics, that’s up to them.”
He said he had not been able to perform any public duties as mayor since early last month because he had been receiving personal threats, but they were not affecting council business.
“I know this has taken away the focus, but I am focused on my job,” he said, pointing to the council’s draft budget, which is out for community consultation.
Preet Singh is still performing mayor duties at events where the public is not involved, such as signing a Friendship City Agreement with the Nepalese municipality of Godawari. (Facebook: Cr Preet Singh — Wyndham City Council)
Cr Singh told the ABC the character reference, dated April 11, 2024 — before he was elected to the council — did not have any impact on the ultimate sentence imposed.
In the reference, Cr Singh told the Melbourne Magistrates Court he had known Kashyap Patel for almost 13 years and counted him as a friend.
“Even though he has been charged, I would continue to trust Mr Kashyap Patel,” he wrote.
“He has always shown high integrity and is someone I could trust.”Wyndham mayor vote
In the letter, Cr Singh said Mr Patel was deeply affected by restrictions on seeing other people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I can say that, in all the time I have known him, Mr Kashyap Patel has been a decent, hardworking and trustworthy person,” he said.
“I believe any behaviour he displayed that caused him to be charged with child grooming and sexual assault was a one-off event.”
Cr Singh was elected mayor of Wyndham City Council on March 23 after his predecessor, Josh Gilligan, was stood down for misconduct.
Cr Gilligan was suspended from the council for one month after an investigation found he failed to comply with the council’s code of conduct when he made an abusive Facebook post about former mayor Kim McAliney in September 2025.