Ryde City Council is lobbying for changes that would mean ratepayers would pay the "reasonable legal expenses" if a councillor felt defamed in the course of his or her civic duty. These "significant" upfront costs would likely run into the tens of thousands of dollars, Cr Pickering said. "But if defamation is proven and I would dare say most councillors, or anyone that would potentially use this, would have that money refunded." The idea will be considered for debate at a local government conference in October after the proposal was endorsed by Ryde's controlling Liberal bloc of councillors. In the meantime, Cr Pickering is himself being sued by a former Liberal mayor Vic Tagg, who claims the new mayor defamed him at a polling booth by loudly implying he was "crooked" and "corrupt".

Mr Tagg then punched Cr Pickering in front of voters – an act that earned him an 18-month good behaviour bond after he pleaded guilty to assault. Mr Tagg, an independent candidate, did not win a spot on the council. Mr Tagg had been contesting a byelection triggered by the departure of another former Ryde mayor, Ivan Petch, who is now facing a series of criminal charges arising from a corruption inquiry. But Cr Pickering's proposal does not relate to his defence of Mr Tagg's claims. "If an action is brought against a councillor, the insurance for that council actually does cover that," Cr Pickering said. Instead, he argued those who relied on careers outside the chamber were "effectively gagged" because they lack the protections of parliamentary privilege when taking on "third parties" such as news organisations. "From my personal perspective, I've had a local newspaper that I believe has defamed me significantly," he said.

Labor councillor George Simon dismissed the idea. "If Bill Pickering has hurt feelings, he can defend himself at his own cost," Cr Simon said. Cr Pickering insisted he had already initiated action in his own case "and I am paying for that". "To suggest that this is a personal thing is wrong," he said. "There are a lot of councillors out there, this is not just my concern, who feel they are unfairly maligned continuously." Local Government Minister Paul Toole, a former Bathurst mayor, said safeguarding ratepayers money was his "overriding concern". "And frankly this proposal doesn't seem a reasonable use of ratepayers' funds," he said.