ICAC to probe Bayside Council’s meetings
THE Independent Commission Against Corruption says it will investigate Bayside and other councils over claims councillors are making decisions behind closed doors.
Southern Courier
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THE Independent Commission Against Corruption says it will investigate Bayside and other councils over claims councillors are making decisions behind closed doors.
Heffron state Labor MP Ron Hoenig, a former Botany mayor, raised concerns at the ICAC committee last month that some councils, including Bayside, were discussing important matters at private advisory committee meetings that were not open to the public.
The committee heard there were similar problems at Canterbury Bankstown Council.
ICAC said it would investigate, describing privacy as a “concern” and “conducive to corruption risk”.
Bayside Council holds one regular meeting a month which is open to the press and public. However, it also has several “advisory committees” which meet in private. These committees discuss finances, infrastructure, community services and more. The council also holds briefing sessions where councillors are presented with plans and public matters — again behind closed doors.
Mr Hoenig said the practice allows councils to all but decide on matters in private. He said council staff drew up sanitised reports from the private hearings which go before open council and were passed with little or no debate.
The Southern Courier calculated the last seven council meetings have lasted a total of just under eight hours. In comparison, the last seven advisory committees lasted a touch under 13 hours. This does not include the unknown number of briefing sessions, the minutes of which are not made public.
This financial year’s $200 million Bayside budget was voted through by councillors in half an hour. Again it is not known how long prior briefings lasted or what happened. Other matters recently discussed behind closed doors include improvements to Botany Aquatic Centre and a presentation on controversial stadium plans for Astrolabe Park.
The council argues private briefings help develop councillor knowledge and expertise.
A Bayside Council spokeswoman said the closed meetings were advisory and final decisions were made at open meetings.
But ICAC has said private briefings were a concern. “The less information available to the public, the less accountability there is,” ICAC’s chief commission Peter Hall QC said. “Privacy can be conducive to corruption risk.”
It is understood the Office of Local Government is also looking into Bayside’s practices.
“Local government is a democracy, not a Politburo. Councillors’ discussions must be subject to scrutiny by press and public, that’s the law. Councillors are having secret discussions … without residents’ knowledge or scrutiny of the press. The days of councils operating like the KGB must stop,” Mr Hoenig said.
The council spokeswoman said briefings and information sessions develop councillor knowledge and expertise. “The (advisory meeting) minutes are made public and everyone has the chance to speak on any council matter in the public forum of the council meeting.”
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