NSW Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig says proposed changes to the state’s code of conduct for elected councillors aim to repair a “fundamentally broken” system that currently generates thousands of trivial complaints.
Mr Hoenig today released the Councillor Conduct and Meeting Practices Framework discussion paper, published by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, for feedback.
The Minister said the current system was “…too open to weaponisation, with tit-for-tat complaints diverting critical council resources and ratepayer money from the things that matter most to communities.
“The sheer volume of vexatious complaints being made is preventing the Office of Local Government from focussing its attention on getting crooks out of the local government sector,” said Minister Hoenig.
He said the options presented in the 20-page discussion paper put the onus back on addressing and resolving issues of councillor misbehaviour at a local level, rather than escalating complaints for the State Government or private investigators to fix.
“It also puts forward options to strengthen the role of the Office of Local Government as the sector regulator, including expanded investigation powers for serious conflict of interest breaches and the ability to issue penalty infringement notices.”
“For far too long the system has been abused. It’s time to restore public confidence in councils and ensure the dignity of this vital third tier of government is upheld.”
There have been 4,289 code of conduct complaints against councillors lodged over the last three years.
Minister Hoenig said proposed reforms would streamline the current 100-page code of conduct down to 2-3 pages – similar to the State Parliamentary code – and outline clear expectations of behaviour for the state’s 1,300 elected councillors.
The new system would see minor complaints about councillor misbehaviour dealt with by a councillor’s peers and leave serious matters relating to conflicts of interest to be examined by the Office of Local Government.
The Government is also putting forward reforms to improve transparency of council meetings to ensure decisions are being made openly and in the best interests of the community as a whole.
Key reforms outlined in the discussion paper, some of which would require changes to the Local Government Act 1993, include:
• Establishing a local government privileges committee of experienced councillors with mayoral experience to assess complaints made against councillors for misbehaviour, consistent with practices in other tiers of government (where the conduct does not meet the threshold for police or referral to another investigative body or tribunal);
• Removing private investigators from the councillor conduct process, while strengthening the investigative capability of the Office of Local Government to investigate and prosecute legitimate complaints (such as issuing penalty infringement notices where conflict of interest declarations have not been made);
• Banning private councillor briefing sessions, except in very limited circumstances;
• Strengthening lobbying guidelines for local government;
• Giving mayors more power to expel councillors from meetings for acts of disorder and remove their entitlement to receive a fee in the month of their indiscretion.
Local Government NSW (LGNSW) has welcomed the release of the discussion paper.
LGNSW President, Broken Hill Councillor, Darriea Turley AM said the local government sector had been anticipating the release of the framework and supported any move that would ensure the highest standards of integrity and probity across all levels of government.
“This issue has been the subject of long conversation for councils and the eventual framework will be a key cornerstone in maintaining integrity, transparency and trust in local government across the state and this next step in the consultation process is very much welcomed by the sector,” President Turley said.
“The Discussion Paper has a range of aspects to it and we look forward to working with councils to hear their feedback and then liaising with the Minister and the Government to ensure we get a final framework that works for everyone.
“Ultimately we want to see a framework that allows councils to carry out their functions efficiently and appropriately, will provide clear expectations to elected officials and confidence for the community at large.”
She said that while there are some aspects that will need to be approached with caution and the provision of more detail, the proposed framework includes some potential improvements.
“As financial sustainability of councils becomes an increasing concern for all of us, it’s good to see that this framework may lead to a reduction in costs to councils by way of removing the contentious role for private investigators.”
“Instead, complaints about conflicts of interest would be made directly to the Office of Local Government (OLG) and complaints about misbehaviour would be made directly to a Local Government Privileges Committee,” said President Turley.
Further, the proposed framework would give Mayors greater powers to sanction councillors for acts of disorder during meetings but significant sanctions (such as suspension, financial penalties or disqualification) will only be made by an appropriate tribunal (such as NCAT), she said.
“This is a vast improvement to the current arrangements where such penalties are made by a NSW Government official, often a substantial period of time after the event.
“I know this is a busy time for local government as we face council elections on Saturday 14 September, but I encourage all councils to look closely at the discussion paper and put forward a submission by the deadline of 15 November.”
The discussion paper is now open for community and sector feedback and can be viewed at: https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/councils/misconduct-and-intervention/councillor-conduct-framework/. Submissions close Friday, 15 November 2024.
