Local councils want bans, hefty fines for ‘bullying and harassment’

UPDATED: LOCAL Government Minister Geoff Brock has rejected a push for new laws to deal with bullying and harassment in the sector, saying councils should be left to manage it themselves..

Burnside Mayor David Parkin.

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LOCAL Government Minister Geoff Brock has rejected a push for new laws to deal with bullying and harassment in the sector, saying councils should be left to manage misbehaving elected members.

The Local Government Association is calling for the State Government to strengthen – and streamline – the council’s code of conduct as part of its planned overhaul of the system.

LGA president Lorraine Rosenberg said new laws should be created to deal with “genuine misconduct” and advocated for the state Ombudsman to be granted powers to impose tougher penalties on councillors found to have bullied or harassed a colleague.

Sanctions would include suspending an elected member for up to three council meetings or forcing them to pay costs – including legal fees – for investigations into their actions.

But Mr Brock has rejected the proposal, reinforcing his position that councils – and not the State Government – should be responsible for regulating behaviour in their chambers.

“How elected members behave is a matter for them, their council and their community,” Mr Brock said.

“I appreciate that bullying and harassment can be difficult to deal with – however it is still a matter of behaviour.

“Councils will continue to have tools on hand to deal with such matters through behaviour management, the application of work health and safety mechanisms … and even using police if the matter becomes serious enough.”

The State Government is reviewing the code of conduct amid concerns the system it introduced in 2013 had become a tool that encourages petty complaints by quarrelling councillors.

Mr Brock said the new code would focus on the “integrity” of council decision making – rather than elected member behaviour.

Mrs Rosenberg said the sector would not tolerate “bullying, harassment or other behaviours that damage the operation and integrity of councils” as she called for the tough new penalties.

“A stronger code of conduct, including greater penalties for breaches, is needed to ensure councils can efficiently and effectively resolve issues,” she said.

The Eastern Courier Messenger last week reported Burnside Council had spent more than $156,000 on legal fees in the past four months “managing and responding to” allegations Cr Lance Bagster bullied some of his colleagues.

Cr Bagster has repeatedly denied the claims.

Burnside Mayor David Parkin said a strengthened code would be a “strong step in the right direction”.

“These things take time to evolve, but at this stage they still do not help with active intervention to deal with a matter … which can arise from time to time,” Mr Parkin said.