Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has not demonstrated any insight into her wrongdoing or indicated she won't fail to disclose gifts again, the State Administrative Tribunal has heard.
The tribunal last month found Ms Scaffidi had breached the Local Government Act 45 times by not disclosing in her annual returns accommodation and travel gifts, including a BHP Billiton-funded $US36,000 package to the Beijing Olympics, which was one of five breaches she admitted.
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At a hearing on Wednesday to determine the penalty Ms Scaffidi should receive, State Solicitors Office lawyer Carolyn Thatcher maintained an immediate six- month suspension from the council was appropriate, saying the lord mayor "paid scant if any regard" to the need to complete her returns properly.
"She failed to appreciate the significance of the returns," Ms Thatcher said.
"She was generally careless."
Ms Thatcher said evidence given by Ms Scaffidi during a February hearing, including that she didn't turn her mind to certain gifts when filling in the returns, was dismissive to the point of being contemptuous.
She didn't demonstrate a desire to be precise and didn't provide any confidence lessons had been learnt, the lawyer said.
Ms Scaffidi's publicly expressed annoyance at media coverage of the case was further evidence of a lack of insight into her wrongdoing, Ms Thatcher said.
![Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has defied calls for her to quit.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170622231440im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/j/e/m/a/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwvhcz.png/1498029725408.jpg)
"Her response simply doesn't demonstrate that she will not do it again. There is no demonstrated change in attitude."
Ms Scaffidi's lawyer Steven Penglis took exception when Ms Thatcher said it wasn't appropriate for the lord mayor to continue in her role, given her shortcomings.
Mr Penglis said he didn't assert penalties should be any less than suspension but should be at the lower end of the scale, whereas Ms Thatcher was calling for the maximum sanction.
He then suggested any temporary removal from public office could be wholly suspended, meaning it would only take effect if she breached the act again, or perhaps there could be no suspension at all.
Mr Penglis said the gifts were well known by others in the City of Perth and she had taken "positive steps" to disclose some of them in the gratuity register, but those facts provided no defence.
"This is a case of carelessness and we accept that," he said.
A penalty is expected to be handed down at a later date, but Ms Scaffidi has already lodged documents with the WA Court of Appeal against the tribunal's findings in May.
- AAP