Today on the Local Government News Roundup, an investigation into the actions of a former councillor dropped; the new Victorian cabinet announced; countback election results from Victoria and NSW; a councillor resigns after being reported to the government, she says unfairly; a NSW mayor the latest preselected to run for State Parliament; and controverisal new powers given to Brisbane’s CEO to edit transcripts of Council meetings.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Listen to this episode here, and find the link for your podcast player here for any of the 180 episodes so far. Scroll down for the transcript for episode 180 with story links.
Transcript (with story links):
Hello and welcome to the Local Government News Roundup. This is your update for the 6th December. I’m Chris Eddy.
Today, an investigation into the actions of a former councillor dropped; the new Victorian cabinet announced; countback election results from Victoria and NSW; a councillor resigns after being reported to the government, she says unfairly; and a NSW mayor the latest preselected to run for State Parliament.
That’s all ahead on the Local Government News Roundup, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
First up today,
An investigation into the actions of former Horsham Rural City Councillor Di Bell has been abandoned for lack of evidence.
The council voted in June to refer allegations of misuse of position and failure to declare conflicts of interest to the Local Government Inspectorate.
Ms Bell resigned from the Council in August.
The ABC now reports that the Inspectorate found one instance of failing to declare a conflict of interest proven, in that Ms Bell remained in the chamber while a motion to refer her actions to the Inspectorate was considered.
The remaining allegations were dismissed, and the Inspectorate does not intend to take any further action.
In July this year, the Minister for Local Government appointed Jude Holt as a Municipal Monitor to Horsham Council. She is due to provide a report to the Minister with her term due to conclude at the end of January.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced his new Cabinet this week, following the recent state election, and there is no change in the local government portfolio.
Melissa Horne retains the local government responsibilities, along with ports and freight, and casino, gaming and liquor regulation. She also takes on roads and road safety.
There is a new Planning Minister in Sonya Kilkenny, and Ros Spence will have suburban development responsibilities.
A raft of machinery of government changes are due to take effect in January, and it’s understood that local government will move into a new government services department, led by Danny Pearson as Minister for Government Services.
A quick look at outstanding state election results, and as of this morning, the seat of Preston is yet to be resolved, but it now appears unlikely that independent candidate and sitting Darebin councillor Gaetano Greco will receive a sufficient flow of preferences to be elected.
The ABC reports that the distribution of preferences has been delayed and is expected to occur today, with the ALP candidate Nathan Lambert on track to secure the seat.
The upper house election is yet to be finalised. Based on current estimates, four councillors are on track to be elected – Joe McCracken, Western Victoria; Katharine Copsey, in Southern Metro; and Moira Deeming and Trung Luu in Western Metro.
The City of Melbourne has released the results of its first Power Melbourne community survey, which demonstrates more than 75 percent support for the installation of neighbourhood batteries.
The council is partnering with the University of Melbourne and RMIT on establishing a network of neighbourhood-scale batteries to make access to clear energy sources more affordable.
The first battery will be installed at Library at the Dock, with support from a $750,000 state government grant.
Here are the Victorian briefs:
A countback at Wodonga City Council has resulted in the election of Danny Chamberlain to fill a vacancy created by the recent resignation of John Watson.
At Moira Shire Council, the first of two scheduled countbacks took place yesterday, with Scott Olson elected from remaining eligible candidates to replace former councillor John Beitzel.
A further countback at Moira, to replace former Mayor Libro Mustica, is due to be conducted next week.
Bass Coast Shire has received a Gold Award in the local government tourism category at the VIctorian Tourism Industry Council awards.
It was also recognised with a silver award in the Visitor Information Services category.
Mayor Michael Whelan said the awards were recognition of their continued work in attracting events and increasing the tourism appeal of the Bass Coast.
And Mitchell Shire now has its first public EV charging stations.
The council has installed fast charging units in Broadford and Kilmore, which are available for public use.
Meanwhile, the council is planning a phased transition of its fleet to fully electric vehicles.
Coming Up: a councillor resigns after being reported to the government, she says unfairly; a NSW mayor the latest preselected to run for State Parliament; and controverisal new powers given to Brisbane’s CEO to edit transcripts of Council meetings.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Join the VLGA for an update from our Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project Partners on Women in Local Government research project.
This project aims to investigate the chronic under representation of women in Australian politics through a local government lens. It expects to generate new knowledge about barriers to female political representation, their political performance and pathways to higher tiers of elected office
The panel will include Professor Dr Andrea Carson, La Trobe University, Professor Leah Ruppanner, University of Melbourne, and Kathryn Arndt, CEO, VLGA.
This online event is at 12 noon on Thursday 15th December. You can find out more on the VLGA website – link in the show notes.
Now in today’s National Roundup:
A councillor at a NSW council has resigned after learning she had been reported to the Office of Local Government for not completing a pecuniary interest declaration form while on bereavement leave.
Former Upper Hunter Shire Councillor Sue Abbott told the ABC she had taken leave after the death of her son and was not monitoring her Council emails during that time, and therefore did not see a request to complete the form.
She subsequently read in Council minutes that she had been reported to the government, and resigned immediately.
The Council GM said it was his duty to report the matter, but admitted that more could have been done to contact Ms Abbott by alternative means.
The Office of Local Government considers the matter closed and does not intend to take any action.
A countbank election to fill the vacancy created by Ms Abbott’s resignation was conducted yesterday by the NSW Electoral Commission, with Belinda McKenzie declared elected to the position.
A formal inquiry into the resilience of Australia’s road network has been launched, and the Australian Local Government Association is urging councils to make submissions.
A parliamentary committee inquiry will investigate road engineering and construction standards to strengthen road resiliency against natural disasters, including the critical role of climate change trends and data to inform infrastructure standards.
The committee will also review the increasing deterioration of the nation’s road network, particularly in regional, rural, and remote areas.
Submissions to the inquiry close at the end of February.
The Queensland State Government will fund 365 apprenticeships and 110 traineeships at local councils across the state.
63 councils, including 11 Indigenous councils, will share in the $7M program to provide young people and disadvantaged job seekers with opportunities to gain a nationally recognised qualification, and up to two years paid employment.
74 per cent ofthe jobs will be focussed on regional and remote Queensland.
Newcastle City Council has unveiled an enterprise agreement for employees with a doubling of support for victims of domestic violence.
The proposed EA includes up to 20 days of paid leave to enable employees in domestic violence situations to take steps to find safety for themselves and their families.
The in-principle agreement also includes paid leave for returned service people to attend Remembrance Day and ANZAC Day events.
The agreement is awaiting ratification and is proposed to commence next month.
At Brisbane City Council, the CEO has been given the authority to edit the Hansard-style transcripts of Council meetings to remove some comments and prevent the naming of council officers.
The ABC reports that the proposed changes were not supported by all councillors, with one suggesting it was a further politicisation of the CEO’s role.
Under the changes, the CEO must ensure editing does not result in inaccurate representations of proceedings.
A spokesperson for the Council said it allows consideration of legal implications and commercial impacts in producing such a complete record of the meetings.
Briefly now:
The Mayor of Edward River Council, Peta Betts, has won preselection to represent the Nationals in the seat of Murray at the upcoming NSW state election.
The Border Mail reports that Ms Betts was one of two candidates in the preselection battle.
She has been mayor since January, and is in her second term on Edward River Council.
(Border Mail, 5-12-22)
Lithgow Council will apply for a permanent increase to land rates.
Under the proposal, total rate income would increase by 45 percent, but the council says the average increase to residential, farming and business categories would be limited to 27.7 percent.
The Queensland Government has approved a request from Toowoomba Regional Council to adopt temporary planning changes that pave the way for thousands of extra homes.
The council proposed a Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) that would enable it to fast-track residential developments in existing underutilised urban land whilst it also continues with preparing its new local planning scheme and long-term housing solutions.
Now to today’s International Spotlight, highlighting some stories of interest from beyond our borders..
From Puerto Rico comes news that 16 municipalities have filed a class action lawsuit against the fossil fuel industry on behalf of the island’s more than 60 municipalities that were devastated in 2017 hurricanes.
EcoWatch.com reports that the ground breaking case alleges that the fossil fuel industry has engaged in a co-ordinated, multi-front effort to promote climate denial and defraud consumers by concealing the climate consequences of fossil fuel products.
The complaint alleges that the industry’s products and conduct has greatly accelerated global warming – allegedly contributing to the 2017 hurricanes which caused nearly 3,000 fatalities and more than $120B in damages across Puerto Rico.
In the US, local governments in the state of Ohio have lost a Supreme Court case that sought to have streaming video services like Netflix pay similar fees to those paid by cable operators.
The Associated Press reports that the case was similar to many other lawsuits filed by municipalities across the US.
The court said that because they provide their services over public internet, they do not need to place their own wires or equipment in public rights of way
And finally, if you’re still looking for your dream local government job, perhaps you could consider applying to be the new rat czar of New York.
The Mayor, Eric Adams, has advertised a $170K per annum position to lead the city’s fight against a relentless rat population.
He says he’s looking for someone with a virulent vehemence for vermin.
CBS News reports that the job description calls for someone with stamina and stagecraft; who is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty!
Along with a bachelor’s degree and relevant experience, the position requires a ‘swashbuckling attitude, crafty humour and a general aura of badassery.’
That’s the latest from the Local Government News Roundup.
You can find more information at our website – lgnewsroundup.com – including our regularly updated list of Victorian mayoral election results and CEO appointment news.
I hope you can join us again soon for more from the Local Government News Roundup, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Until then, thanks for listening and bye for now.