Your Right to Know: Almost 500 secret items on councils’ agendas this year alone
Adelaide’s councils have held hundreds of debates and votes behind closed doors in the past year alone. How secretive is your council? SEE WHERE YOUR COUNCIL SITS.
Local
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Adelaide councils secretly discussed nearly 500 agenda items in the past financial year, adding to a mountain of restricted documents dating back more than two decades.
Data from 19 councils reveals they met in private 495 times in 2018-19, and only 137 matters were subsequently made public.
The discussions were held by committees, full councils and special council meetings, as well as workshops hosted by chief executives.
Almost 2000 secret items remain on registers, with the oldest, from Tea Tree Gully Council, dating back to 1995.
The councils sitting on the most confidential reports are Adelaide, Marion, Mitcham and Salisbury.
Two councils — West Torrens and Holdfast Bay — have yet to publicly release any of the 35 private matters they discussed in 2018-19, while Marion has released only four out of 51 matters.
An investigation by The Advertiser has shown councils are increasingly using workshops to discuss potentially controversial issues before they are debated at meetings.
Of 425 workshops held last financial year, 104 — or almost a quarter — were closed to the public.
HOW SECRETIVE IS YOUR COUNCIL?
But Marion Mayor Kris Hanna said it was “ridiculous” to describe his council as secretive solely based on statistics.
“Councils that are active and bold will have more confidential items,” he said.
“For example, we have no less than four major projects on the books at present.
“Marion councillors and I are generally reluctant to deal with matters confidentially but sometimes one must.
“The questions for the media are: do you want to stifle council innovation and business partnerships by scrapping commercial-in-confidence confidentiality; or do you want to embarrass innocent people whose private concerns come to council in confidence?”
Labor local government spokesman Tony Piccolo said his party had drafted legislation to make councils more accountable but it failed to pass the Lower House.
“Labor believes that increased transparency of council operations improves democratic accountability to ratepayers,” he said.
“Our Bill included measures designed to improve online access to important council documents, disclosure of council expenses, a tightening of provisions which allow councils to meet in confidence, and measures designed to increase the transparency of councils’ budgets.
“The Marshall Government’s rejection of the Ratepayer Protection Bill was petty politics, plain and simple.”
PODCAST: OFF THE RECORD - YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WEEK
Mr Piccolo said no amendments were put forward by the State Government, “yet their own discussion paper on local government reform includes many of the measures Labor had already proposed in the Ratepayer Protection Bill.”
Local Government Association president Sam Telfer said councils were “the most accountable and transparent tier of government”.
“The LGA is consulting with members on further improvements as part of the State Government’s reform program,” he said.
“We are looking at opportunities to centralise council reporting, so communities can easily access a wide range of information about their council in the one place.”
Mr Telfer said the LGA wanted an online benchmarking system that would provide ratepayers with up-to-date data about their council and other comparable councils.
He said there were “a number of good reasons for councils to consider items in confidence, such as when it relates to a staffing issue, or a tender or other commercially sensitive information, or the discussion of legal advice”.
“It’s important that these discussions are held in private to respect the rights and reputations of outside parties,” he said.
Mr Telfer said councils already were required to report on a wide range of matters “and compliance costs make up a significant component of rates notices”.
Local Government Minister Stephan Knoll did not respond to questions from The Advertiser.
Adelaide councils and the chamber of secrets
OLDEST
Tea Tree Gully Council is still sitting on a report from 1995 about a petition involving the Greenwith Community Centre management.
MOST SECRETS
Adelaide City Council has the most confidential documents — 1158 — which is not surprising, considering the size of the council and number of issues it is involved with.
DIRTY SECRET
Mitcham Council has a report from 2015 on legislative options to clean up a residential property.
MAJOR PROJECTS
Councils involved in building large community facilities are still keeping numerous financial and legal reports confidential.
SENSITIVE ISSUE
PlayfordCouncil is yet to reveal how much it spent on lawyers and consultants during the saga over sacked chief executive Mal Hemmerling. His out-of-court settlement must remain confidential by law.
COUNCILLOR COMPLAINTS
Code-of-conduct complaints against elected members are automatically discussed behind closed doors. Many councils, however, will release full or partial reports once the matters are resolved.
COMMON SUBJECT
Several councils went into confidence to discuss the China National Sword policy — and their recycling contracts. None of the material has been released.
PAY RISES
Councils regularly are reviewing the performance of their chief executives — and discussing results behind closed doors. Many release details when new contracts are negotiated.
COMMUNITY AWARDS
Awards for community service usually are discussed in confidence and then made public when the winners are announced.
BOOTED OUT
Marion Council discussed the future of Hallett Cove Football Club — known as the Cobras — in secret after receiving a report about an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct. The Cobras have since got a second chance.