Alan Eldridge is suing Wagga City Council for $1 million

A Supreme Court hearing of the legal action taken by Mr Eldridge began in Wagga on Tuesday, with the first witness taking the stand.

The former general manager was appointed special administrator of Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation in 2017, after he left Wagga Council.

Mr Eldridge initiated legal action in 2018 after he was told his employment had been terminated, effective immediately, following a council meeting on May 29, 2017.

The council's defence team's written submission claims Mr Eldridge "engaged in significant breaches of his contract", which justified firing him without notice.

Some of the allegations include failing to disclose pecuniary interests, incurring expenses paid for by council or reimbursed that were personal in nature, engaging in outside employment without the knowledge or approval of the council, and using a council letterhead to issue a press release about his personal matters.

In its written submission, also tendered to the court, Mr Eldridge's legal team said the council did not have any basis to fire him and none of the alleged actions justify the dismissal.

They are asking the court to find that he should not have been sacked and damages should be assessed according to the opportunity lost. This equates to a salary for two-and-a-half years, which comes to $1,159,425.05.

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On Tuesday, Wagga mayor Greg Conkey was cross-examined by senior counsel for Mr Eldridge, John Fernon, who asked him about an email from a Daily Advertiser journalist in February 2017.

The correspondence raised questions about whether or not Mr Eldridge had failed to disclose his son's involvement in a property development at Gumly, which was subject to an application for rezoning from farmland to housing.

Cr Conkey agreed the following media "agitation" was built around the suggestion that Mr Eldridge did not declare a conflict of interest when Inglewood Estate development was brought up and put pressure on the council.

Mr Fernon later asked Cr Conkey if he was aware that Mr Eldridge would be speaking to the media about the allegations. He responded he was not informed.

"What I am putting to you is that Mr Eldridge's conduct in issuing statements to the media were reasonable," Mr Fernon asked.

Cr Conkey replied: "I would have expected the general manager to consult with me first ... I don't think it was reasonable without consulting me first."

Cr Conkey told the court one of council's lawyers had suggested Mr Eldridge step down so an investigation could take place.

The hearing, which is expected to run for two weeks, continues tomorrow.

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