In what must be considered the most reactionary and one sided ‘discussion paper’ that this government has ever produced we now have the Councillor Conduct and Governance Reform effort. Public submissions are called for – yet we note that the submission period is less than 3 weeks; that the ‘call’ received practically no publicity; and that the authors of the report are most likely to be CEOs and other bureaucrats.
We have uploaded the full paper and the relevant link to the department’s site may be accessed at: http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/localgovernment/news-and-events/news/conduct-and-governance-discussion-paper
A taste of what is ‘suggested’ follows:
Glen Eira Debates 
July 27, 2013 at 11:58 AM
Hyams and Newton would love this.
July 27, 2013 at 3:34 PM
It struck me as odd that the discussion paper mentioned various changes that Government has made in the past without this sort of consultation exercise. Back then the paper claims the consultation was limited to “stakeholders”, implying that ratepayers aren’t stakeholders. The focus of the paper is misguided, since effective power lies with the CEO and their staff.
July 28, 2013 at 10:12 AM
The paper talks about governance and probity. Administration hardly get a mention. Councillors are part of the problem, not the entire problem. Until the legislation puts equal emphases on limiting the power and secrecy of administrators and making them fully accountable then the same issues will roll on.