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Local Government Association to hold code of conduct roundtable with political leaders to help fix “broken system”

A CRISIS meeting between political leaders has been called to solve bad behaviour among councillors after revelations some councils have been subject to dozens of code of conduct complaints.

Local Government Association of SA president Lorraine Rosenberg says the code of conduct complaints system is “broken”.
Local Government Association of SA president Lorraine Rosenberg says the code of conduct complaints system is “broken”.

A CRISIS meeting between South Australian political leaders has been called to find a solution to bad behaviour among councillors after revelations some councils have been the subject of dozens of code of conduct complaints.

The Local Government Association will invite SA political leaders to a roundtable next week to fix what LGA president Lorraine Rosenberg said was a “broken” code of conduct system.

The move comes after The Advertiser revealed on Saturday that SA councils are dealing with about one code of conduct complaint about elected members or staff each week, leading to calls for an overhaul of the system governing how councillor behaviour is managed.

Analysis by this newspaper found more than 169 complaints have been investigated since November 2014 council elections; although the figure was likely higher as 19 of SA’s 69 councils refused, or failed, to provide details of their code of conduct complaints.

Victor Harbor, Adelaide Plains and Charles Sturt councils have dealt with more than 20 complaints.

Ms Rosenberg, Onkaparinga Council’s mayor, said “a few councils” have had numerous complaints, which had impacted on their reputation and operations.

Among proposals expected to be raised by the LGA at the talks — and which the LGA has previously aired publicly — will be tougher penalties, new behavioural standards and clearer processes for managing complaints and investigations.

“In addition to presenting a proposal to the State Government to strengthen the code and increase penalties for breaches, the LGA is working on a range of preventive strategies,” she said.

“These include implementing a new program to improve leadership capacity within the sector, working with councils to develop better induction programs for new members, and a campaign to attract the best possible field of candidates for the 2018 council elections.” She said she would report back on the talk’s outcome in “coming weeks”.

The LGA, State Government and Opposition are all in agreement the code system that deals with misbehaving councillors needs overhauling.

Local Government Minister Geoff Brock told The Advertiser his office had delayed finalisation of a review into the code of conduct at the request of the LGA.

But he said once completed the revised code would be simpler than existing rules.

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Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/local-government-association-to-hold-code-of-conduct-roundtable-with-political-leaders-to-help-fix-broken-system/news-story/cea0ebe09592dd3b04e8743b1c3f97da