COUN Keith Phillips, group leader of the MTAG town councillors, writes in your leading letter (Postbag, October 12), that I proposed a motion at a council meeting on September 6 as "a ruse to cut short his questioning" on issues related to the retirement of the former town clerk.

It is true that I am sick of the persistent and aggressive questioning by MTAG councillors over the past months concerning the former town clerk and his staff.

The MTAG questioning and council debates over real and alleged facts and the interpretation of those facts have consumed the largest part of recent meetings. It is my view that the more the issues are debated then the less clear the actual facts become.

Members of the council have a duty to hold debates based solely on relevant, proven facts. The intention of my proposal on September 6 was to delay all comment, questioning and debate on the former clerk until the completion of the wide-ranging investigation now being held by the district auditor.

The district auditor's established facts can be the only firm basis on which an informed debate can take place and on which the public can take their own view. Talk about "shoddy happenings", "enormous cost" and "irregularity in payments" by Coun Phillips is, in my view, loose talk aimed solely at gaining political advantage. Such talk prejudices and unduly influences the public perception of the facts and should therefore cease.

I must make quite clear that I opposed the approval of early retirement terms to the former town clerk. The public record clearly shows my opposition and its grounds. I look forward to co-operating with the DA in his investigation.

COUN GRAHAM MYATT, Malvern town councillor, Trinity Ward, Cockshot Road, Malvern.