Four Greens councillors in Melbourne’s inner-north, including the Mayor of Darebin, have been confirmed as among the 18 party members who tried to take out their own candidate for the recent Batman byelection before the race had even started.

Darebin Mayor Kim Le Cerf and councillors Trent McCarthy, Steph Amir and Susanne Newton face calls for their expulsion from the Greens over their alleged roles in the sabotage of the failed campaign of candidate Alex Bhathal.

Cr Trent McCarthy. Photograph by Chris Hopkins Credit:Chris Hopkins

The Greens have never expelled a sitting councillor or MP.

The four were among 18 signatories to a 101-page complaint against Ms Bhathal that was delivered to party authorities in the run-up to the byelection and then leaked to the media once the campaign was under way.