The Queensland Government has announced it will introduce the Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill to Parliament this year.
Key changes proposed in the Empowering Councils Bill, announced at the LGAQ Annual Conference today, include:
- re-empowering councillors to appoint senior council staff, giving them a say in senior, strategic appointments to the council;
- clarifying the powers of the mayor and other councillors to provide certainty about their responsibilities;
- removing conduct breaches from the councillor conduct framework and streamlining training requirements, so councillors can focus delivering for their communities;
- allowing election candidates to include contact information other than their residential address, protecting the privacy and safety of participants; and
- making the conflict-of-interest framework clearer and more straightforward, to remove red tape from councillors without sacrificing integrity in government.
The Government says the reforms will remove costly and time-consuming red tape and streamline legislative requirements.
The Empowering Councils Bill will do this by amending the Local Government Act 2009, City of Brisbane Act 2010, Local Government Electoral Act 2011, Local Government Regulation 2012, City of Brisbane Regulation 2012 and Disaster Management Regulation 2014, said Minister for Local Government and Water, Ann Leahy.
“We are delivering a fresh start and empowering local governments to deliver for Queensland communities,” Minister Leahy said.
“Local governments are genuine and equal partners in delivering The Right Plan for Queensland’s Future to get Queensland heading in the right direction for the benefit of all Queenslanders.
“Councils know the Crisafulli Government are committed to working alongside them for our local communities, and this Bill empowers them to do exactly that,” she said.
The Government has also signed an Accord with Queensland’s Indigenous Leaders, in the next step in enacting the Equal Partners in Government Agreement.
“Queenslanders rightly overwhelmingly rejected the Voice to Parliament while at the same time called for greater practical outcomes to be delivered in Indigenous communities, which is exactly what the Accord does,” said Minister Leahy.
“Unlike the Voice to Parliament, this is elected officials working together to deliver for their communities.
“We have done everything we said we’d do in our first 12 months of government – we are freeing you from unnecessary red tape and bureaucratic burdens.”
Lockhart River Mayor, Wayne Butcher said the Accord “gives us a seat at the table with the right people to make the decisions our communities need”.
“This is an historic agreement with the State Government for us to work together on moving forward, tackling the issues in our communities head on,” he said.
“It is about tangible results on the ground for our communities, like housing, key infrastructure, waste water and overcrowding.”
