Bayside Council votes to meet in private despite government warning

COUNCILLORS have voted to keep holding meeting behind closed doors — despite being told by State Government that they are in breach of legislation.

Bayside councillors will continue to meet in private despite a warning from the state government. Picture: John Appleyard

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COUNCILLORS have voted to keep holding meeting behind closed doors — despite being told by State Government that they are in breach of legislation.

Bayside Council holds just one public meeting a month with all other meetings — known as advisory committees — held in private.

In August the Office of Local Government (OLG) wrote to Bayside warning the council it was in breach of the Local Government Act.

Instead of opening the meetings to public scrutiny, councillors voted to put the general manager on the committees, which bypasses the requirement to open them to public scrutiny.

All but two of the councillors — Christina Curry and Scott Morrissey — voted to keep advisory committees private.

Councillor Christina Curry and Scot Morrissey were the only councillors to vote to open the meetings to the press and public

Councillor Scott Morrissey

“Transparency is vital and builds confidence of the community,” Cr Curry said. “It means the public is totally aware of why we make the decisions we make.”

Cr Morrissey questions why the meetings are closed if there are no secrets.

“Nothing that we do is secret … I can understand the perception that is out there among the community that council is holding meetings and they may not be fully abreast of what the topics are.

“There are no secrets here, we need to have that transparency. Nothing would change in terms of what we discuss.”

Cr Curry also questioned if it was appropriate to have the non-elected general manager vote at advisory committees.

But Mayor Bill Saravinovski dismissed the issue as “a lot of hot air” from “certain media outlets”.

Councillor Michael Nagi said there was no need to open up the meetings

Councillor Tarek Ibrahim said he was stunned the matter was even being discussed

“There are no hidden agendas by any councillor here. Councillors let’s get real, we are here to do a job for the community, we are not pussy footing around.”

He said the closed meetings were advisory in nature and all binding decisions are made in open council.

However, as raised by state Heffron Labor MP Ron Hoenig in parliament, much of the debate and discussions on matters are held behind closed doors at the advisory committees.

Mr Hoenig MP slammed the council’s decision and branded Bayside as “frightening”.

Cr Michael Nagi told the meeting that council was “transparent, ethical and open” and referenced the monthly meeting being broadcast on Facebook.

“They see us, they see what we say, they see what we speak, they see what we debate. They can hear, not only see, and it’s on record. How more transparent can we be?”

Mayor Bill Saravinovski said the system worked as it is and told councillors to “stop pussy footing around”. Picture: John Appleyard

Councillor Tarek Ibrahim said he did not understand what the fuss is about.

“I don’t even know why we are doubting why we have committees … A committee is a mechanism for getting a group of people together to look at what we’re trying to achieve, research and make decisions that are well informed and actually making it happen.

“If we didn’t have committees we wouldn’t be able to pass any project.”

In a letter to the council in August, the OLG said: “The failure to allow members of the public to attend committee meetings would appear to be inconsistent with the council’s obligations under section 10(1) … I would ask that the council review the meeting practices of its advisory committees …”

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