A municipal monitor has been appointed to the South Gippsland Shire Council, Minister for Local Government, Shaun Leane has announced.
Mr Leane said Prue Digby, a former municipal monitor to Frankston City Council, will support the Shire’s transition back to elected councillors, encourage good governance and help prevent a recurrence of the behaviours that led to the council’s dismissal in June 2019.
“South Gippsland locals deserve the very best from their local council and elected representatives, and I look forward to seeing the return of democracy at South Gippsland Shire under Ms Digby’s guidance,” the Minister said.
The council was dismissed after the Commission of Inquiry found a high level of discord, conflict and tension between the councillors had negatively affected the council’s performance, councillors’ decision-making, councillor-staff relationships and council’s reputation.
Three administrators have since been overseeing the functioning of council.
“I thank the Administrators for their work in supporting the local community through a challenging time and I fully
expect the newly elected councillors to maintain the standards of good governance that have been put in place,” said Mr Leane.
In addition to appointing a monitor, the Victorian Government is also supporting the participation of women in local government in South Gippsland through a $29,500 grant to expand the Australian Local Government Women’s Association mentoring program.
The program pairs newly elected female councillors with experienced mentors from across the state, with five places reserved for women elected to the South Gippsland Shire Council.
PwC is leading the Local Government Culture Project which will support and improve council culture across the state, providing a platform for the sector to identify and take ownership of a positive and inclusive culture that will improve governance and build public trust.
