Local Government Division and LGAT to work to prevent a recurrence of council dysfunction

ENSURING the scandal that plagued the Glenorchy City Council isn’t repeated will be the focus of top-level local government talks.

ENSURING the scandal that plagued the Glenorchy City Council isn’t repeated will be the focus of top-level local government talks next week.

Local Government Association of Tasmania chief executive Katrena Stephenson said the scathing report into the governance and management at Glenorchy would be at the forefront of discussions when the Premier’s Local Government Council met.

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“It will definitely be discussed,” she said.

Local Government Association of Tasmania chief executive Katrena Stephenson.

“Some of the recommendations may fall under what is in the targeted review of the Local Government Act but we will discuss them and see how they may fit the sector.”

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University of Tasmania governance expert Tom Baxter said the situation at Glenorchy was a lesson “in poor governance”.

“In local government, people need to act professionally for the good of the community and the report says that this just did not happen,” he said.

Board of Inquiry members Barry Easther and Lynn Mason have made a number of recommendations in the report, which was tabled in State Parliament this week, regarding changes to the Local Government Act to ensure the scenario that played out at Glenorchy doesn’t happen again.

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They include the Director of Local Government issuing a model statement of expectations for mayors and aldermen, with an adoption of a statement of expectations to be recommended for all councils; amending the Local Government Act and Regulations to provide additional powers for the popularly elected mayor and giving the Local Government Minister the ability to direct a council to terminate the employment of a general manager after a top-level investigation.

Debate continues over whether councillors and aldermen should be paid extra to attract younger and more qualified people to local government.

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Dr Stephenson said running councils was becoming more complex.

“The complexity [in councils] is so different to what it used to be, it’s now like a professional board,” she said.

“People are now expecting their aldermen and councillors to go deeper.

“It’s just about having the right people there with the right staff, but how we attract them is a complex issue that needs a lot of thought.”