Hoenig: Councils are unlawful and secretive
HEFFRON state Labor MP Ron Hoenig has accused councils which hold meetings behind closed doors of being “unlawful” and “secretive”. And he’s called for an investigation into councils in his electorate, which includes Bayside.
Southern Courier
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HEFFRON state Labor MP Ron Hoenig has accused councils which hold meetings behind closed doors of being “unlawful” and “secretive”.
Mr Hoenig spoke in State Parliament and called for an investigation into councils in his electorate, which includes Bayside.
He said some local authorities are increasingly holding briefing sessions with councillors behind closed doors — instead of public meetings.
Mr Hoenig said a “sanitised report” was then produced before it was voted on at a council meeting.
Bayside Council has several advisory committees — closed to the press and public — which cover everything from recreation to finance.
Three councillors sit on each and discuss matters, including financial ones, before then before making recommendations to the council.
The matters are then voted on at the monthly public council meeting — often with little or no debate.
“It is contrary to the principles of open council,” Mr Hoenig said.
“This isn’t about any one council — local government has become secretive and unlawful. I think it is scandalous because you’ve got to be able to shine a light on the decision making process.”
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A Bayside spokesman defended the council’s procedures and said the committees were “purely advisory in nature” and “have no delegation of authority and have no authority to commit council funds”.
“These provide an opportunity for interested councillors to conduct more in-depth discussion,” he said.
Given their informal nature they do not have to follow the same rules as meetings prescribed by the Local Government Act, he added. “All minutes are referred to an open council meeting,” he said.
The Office of Local Government said it would investigate any authority referred to them. A spokesman said pre-briefing meetings can be used by councils but debating and predetermining matters to be confided at open council should be open to the press and public.